Welcome To The Black Parade, Girly
by squishyfrog
Summary: Gerard Way can't seem to have kids with his wife. So when Milly Walker is orphaned by a crazed murderer, he finds himself intrigued by her and, without the consent of Lyn-z, takes her in. He never guessed that those good intentions could end so badly.
1. Preface

**Note:**

ok, so first fan-fic, probably sucks, and i had no idea what i was doing on this site, so i've probably just done a lot of things wrong. **Disclaimer****:** I don't own and/or know any of My Chemical Romance or anyone else in here, I know some things aren't realistic, like Gerard not being able to have any kids, as proven recently, but I had to write it this way for it to work.

Preface

**Milly POV**

Only one month in there and I was sick of that damned foster care. I didn't care who or even what got me out, but I was anxious to get the _hell_ out of there. Get me a guardian, I don't care who it is, I just need someone to get out and away from that lady.

Her accent...Those clothes...That music...Terrible.

I never really had much of an appetite, but the few times I did...I lost it again quickly.

There was hardly anything in my room...but I wasn't going back to my house. I couldn't. I didn't know what was there, especially since the last time I'd seen it was right before I fainted. And the last thing I'd seen _there_. A hairy man with a scar that, unfortunately, mirrored my own.

_Wanna know how I got this scar? _He said it just like the Joker. _Here...I'll show you._

The thoughts...just like that one...were the worst. And that was something I knew wouldn't go away, even getting a guardian and getting away from that place.

**Gee POV**

I stood frozen, still looking at the door where my wife had stormed out. I didn't want to go after her, though. This was a stupid argument, anyway. But I was terrified that, if I didn't do something about it, or about her, she'd be the one to do something.

Nah. She wouldn't do that, even if she were desperate.

I decided to watch the news while I waited for her to come back, which I was sure she would.

It wasn't my fault I couldn't give her a kid. Not my fault rock stars…do crazy things. And in turn…get crazy things done to them.

I was chewing this over when I saw the most disturbing thing I think I'd ever seen on CNN, wiping all thoughts of my wife out of my head.

Well…not so much see, as hear.

_There's a man...He's hurting my family. _A little girl's voice came.

_Are you near your family? _The operator asked after a short pause.

_No...He chaining them up, what do I do?_

_Stay put, where do you live?_

The girl told her, starting to cry.

_What's your name?_

_Milly,_

_Milly, stay put, people are on their way,_

_Thank you,_

_Don't hang up,_

_Oh...He's got a knife, he's going- what do I do?_

_Stay. Put._

_What if he hurts them?_

_Milly, people are on their way, they will-_

Before the operator could finish, Milly screamed and the line was cut.

My blood ran cold as the TV went back to the newscaster, who had a uneasy look on her face.

"The girl is safe," she said, voice trembling. "But she has been sent to foster care, as her family…wasn't so fortunate."

I kept watching, trying to piece together the full story.

The girl, a 10-year-old, found out her cat was missing and went to look for it. It had been…slaughtered. She got scared and went back to her mom. Luckily, she stopped before the man saw her, giving her enough time to call the police.

In foster care. Those words rang in my ears.

And there you go. That's how the suck fest began.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Milly Walker?" the lady asked incredulously, in the country accent that drove me crazy.

"Yes," I sighed, sure the information should have sunk in by that time. "I'm here to see Milly Walker."

"You sure?"

"Pretty. Damn. Sure."

I didn't fly all the way to Oklahoma just screw with your head lady, now let me in.

"Alright, alright," she said, seeming offended. "It's just weird for someone to come for a kid so soon."

Jeez…she made it sound like I was a pedophile.

"She's only been here so long. I just gotta tell you, she hatn't spoken since she got here."

"I can talk enough for the both of us," I assured her, even more annoyed.

"Alright-MILLY!"

I jumped at her abrupt scream, making her laugh obnoxiously.

She led me into a nearly empty room, having only a bed and chair inside it. At first I was confused, because it seemed like nothing was living in there, but then I saw something moving under the bed.

A little blond haired girl poked her head out, looked immediately to the door, and froze in shock.

She tried to sink back into the bed, but seemed to have trouble doing so.

"Aw, don't be 'fraid, Milly," her captor cooed. "He's alright."

Milly hesitated, but slowly came back out from under the bed.

"I'll leave you two ta chat," the lady said, walking out, leaving Milly whimpering for her.

Leave us to chat? How? I'm the only one that can talk, apparently.

"Does she drive you crazy, too?" I asked, stalling for time.

Milly's only response was a quick nod.

"So…" I began, sitting down. "What…exactly…are we supposed to 'chat' about?"

She didn't respond…she just stared at me, with her big blue eyes.

I noticed her clothes were all blue. Weird. Her hair was filthy…like she hadn't washed it in days. And her face was so frail…she looked like she was at least 20 pounds underweight. Then there were her eyes…scared and tired. If I didn't take her in, would she be able to survive?

"Well, Milly," I started, unsure of what I was even going to say, when she unexpectedly ducked back under her bed. So much for that.

She was under there for only a minute when she came back out and handed me a pen and paper.

Why couldn't I just talk?

I looked at the paper and noticed there was already writing on it.

_I can't decide if her accent or laugh is the worst,_ she wrote.

I laughed faintly seeing that. "I know, right?"

She took the pencil and paper back and started writing more. I guess this was going to get easier.

After handing me the paper again, she sat back and hugged her knees, waiting for me to answer.

_Are you going to get me out of here?_ she asked.

Yes, was my first instinct, but I knew I had to think it through better than that…but then I looked at her and I remembered her temporary guardian and…I made what was probably the most irresponsible decision of my life. But then again…I'd never been concerned with responsibility.

_Yes,_ I wrote back, knowing my wife would kill me.

* * *

Most of the way home was in silence, unsurprisingly. I tried several times to start a conversation, but it only went so far with this girl.

"So," I began, not even sure of what I was going to say. "You're 10, right?"

She shook her head faintly, looking at her feet.

"Eleven?"

She nodded, not looking up.

"Oh, wow," I whispered, thinking how miserable that birthday must have been. "That happen recently?"

Another nod.

"Feel any different than ten?"

Wow...Frank Iero would've slapped me for that one.

She paused, seeming to realize how pitiful this conversation was, then shook her head again.

Unable to think of any other age related comments, I mentally searched for some other topic to babble about.

"Have you lived in Oklahoma long?"

All I got out of that was another head shake.

I couldn't decide if it would be more awkward to stop trying to converse now, or to continue with me being the only one talking...so to be safe, I just shut up.

Which she seemed to appreciate.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

**Gerard POV**

"You...seriously adopted her?" Lyn asked in shock.

"Yup," I said confidently.

We'd gotten home late, and Milly went straight to bed, probably unaware that Lyn-z didn't have any clue of what I'd just done.

She only stared at me for a while and I became nervous.

"Didn't you...want-"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" she exploded.

"I thought you-"

"You can't take care of her! You can hardly take care of yourself!"

"Hey, I think we both know-"

"She just lost her family to a crazed murderer! Do you have even the SLIGHTEST idea-"

"LYN! I know what I'm doing-"

"You don't have any CLUE what you're doing!"

"And you don't have any clue-"

"As to what? Your brilliant plan of how to bring her back from the darkness she's in now-"

"So you don't want me to try?!? You just want to her to drift from the universe like a worthless gnat?"

She froze and looked at me with cold fury. "Why would you even suggest that?"

And then we heard a scream, dissolving our argument immediately.

I ran to Milly's room, Lyn close behind.

Milly was sitting straight up in bed, shaking and sobbing, gripping her hair like it was her last life-line to earth.

"Milly," Lyn gasped, walking over to her.

She looked up at Lyn and jerked the sheets off, stumbling out of the bed, away from Lyn.

* * *

The nights passed, all of them the same. She woke up at 3 am screaming, shaking, and crying. Lyn and I took turns going to comfort her and try to calm her down, which was hard as she seemed to be terrified of human contact...and humans in general.

The days, however, were unpredictable. Sometimes she might wake up and go through the day like a robot, sometimes she could hardly get through the day with so many break downs, and sometimes she'd get through the day just being paranoid. She never talked, never touched, never left the house, and never showed more than those three emotions...apathy, fear, and depression.

Nice, isn't it?

And the strangest thing of all is...She never wore anything but blue.

Lyn-z was furious that I hadn't talked to her first before adopting Milly, which I can't blame her for, but she didn't seem to have a problem with Milly herself.

I hoped she'd grow to love...or at least like Milly being there...because I sure as hell couldn't take her back.

* * *

**Lyn POV**

_Where are you? _I thought to myself as I scrambled for my phone.

The ringtone indicated it was Jimmy, which could only mean one thing right now. He found out about Milly.

"Hello?"

"What's this I hear about a little blond kid?" he asked, not bothering to to say hi back. "Who dresses in_ blue_. I mean, seriously, it sounds like you adopted a _prep._"

"Ok, firstly," I said, already annoyed by the word "adopted". "It was Gee's idea, not mine. He didn't even _talk _to me about it-"

"Near fatal move on his part," Jimmy interrupted.

"Yeah," I continued. "And secondly, she can't exactly control her hair color."

"But the blue-"

"Is _apparently_ her grieving color!"

"Well that's screwed up," he said, in an unusually clean way for him. "Oh, yeah, guess what?"

"What?"

"I'm coming over,"

And before I could respond or object, he hung up.

* * *

**Gerard POV**

Hearing the doorbell, I prayed it was somebody we knew, and not some perverted, stalker-like--

"Jimmy," Lyn-z's voice cut through my thoughts, sounding annoyed. "Just love how you didn't even let me respond-"

"I wanna see little miss Britney Snow!" he interrupted, sounding excited.

"I don't think that would be a very good idea," I interjected.

"Hey, Gee," he exclaimed. "Why not?"

"I...just don't..."

"Gee," Lyn cut me off. "He's already here...I don't think it'll be that bad."

I sighed, resigning to the will of my master. "Fine."

Walking down the hall towards Milly's room, I called her name, hoping Lyn was right.

She popped her head out and motioned to her to come out of her room and follow me.

"Milly," I started once we'd reached Jimmy and Lyn-z. "This is Jimmy-"

I barely gotten his first name out before she went crazy. In her own, silent way.

Basically, she punched him in the balls. Hard.

"Milly!" Lyn and I yelled in unison, Lyn reaching down towards Jimmy, who was kneeling in pain.

"What...was that for?" Jimmy gasped.

Just as he said that, Milly's eyes narrowed and she started towards him again.

I reacted immediately and grabbed her shoulders before she could cause anymore damage.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**Gerard POV **

After we apologized for Milly a thousand times, and Jimmy left, Lyn-z went berserk, screaming her head off at Milly, and ordering her to go to her room.

Milly didn't appear that upset with being yelled at or told to go to her room, she just shrugged and went back to her room, not seeming to see it as a punishment.

"I can't believe she did that," Lyn gasped.

"I told you it wasn't a good idea," I stated bluntly.

"And apparently your opinion is the only one that matters," she spat.

"Alright now, you wanna get that stick out of your ass before you hurt somebody?"

"Sorry," she mumbled.

"S'ok," I said, putting my arm around her neck and pulling her into a hug. "Don't worry...Milly'll have to get used to him, living with us."

"As long as she doesn't get used to punching him in the balls," she retorted.

"She won't," I assured her. "That will be the last time she does anything to his balls, if I can help it."

Lyn-z giggled, almost forgetting how angry she was. Almost.

* * *

Unfortunately, the following week packed plenty more excitement. Lyn-z seemed to have a hard time forgiving Milly, and Milly seemed to care less about being forgiven by Lyn-z. She did, however, seemed to care about being forgiven by me.

One day, while I was sitting on the couch sketching, she stood several feet away, looking at me expectantly.

"Need something, girly?" I asked after a while, looking up.

She bit her lip, apparently unsure of herself.

Finally, she darted her head around the room, then got closer to me, only to pick up the pad of paper and pen I kept on the coffee table and scribble something down, then back away nervously.

I reached forward and picked it up, surprised by the amount she'd written.

_I'm sorry. I didn't think about hitting Jimmy. It's just that I've heard his music. I know I shouldn't judge him based on that, but I sort of did._

How had she heard his music? And what about it?

"Umm...Milly...." I paused, unsure of what exactly to say. "_I_ forgive you, but...I'm not the one you should be apologizing-"

Ducking her head down and obviously deciding to ignore me, she walked away, probably to her room.

* * *

"You mean the only time she's ever touched anybody has been to punch Jimmy in the-"

"_Yes!_" I groaned, wondering when Bob would come to grips with that.

The band was in Frank's living room, talking about Milly rather than our new album, as we'd intended to talk about.

"She won't even get _near _Lyn or me," I continued. "I can see why, though. But the nightmares are the worst. _Every_ night, at _three in the morning._"

"Geez," Mikey sympathized. "It's amazing you're even here."

"Eh," I shrugged. "One good thing about being me: I can sleep in. Plus, Lyn and I take turns getting her back to sleep."

"You mean Lyn-z's still willing to do that?" Frank laughed.

I laughed, though not in an amused mood. "Maybe that's why Milly's still afraid to get near us."

"Maybe you should try candy," Ray suggested. "Or would that scare her away for good?"

Frank nearly fell off his chair in laughter.

"Yeah, Gerard," Mikey chuckled. "Give her candy like she's never _come _to _taste._"

"You guys are sick!" I whined throwing popcorn at them.

"Ray started it!" Frank cackled.

"Ok, ok," Ray wheezed, still having trouble not laughing. "I have a serious idea now. What if we threw a _family friendly_-" he gave Frank a glare with those last words. "-party for her. You know, give her a welcomed feeling, make her know you're not hostile or anything like that."

"She's terrified of crowds," I pointed out.

"Make it a small one then," Ray amended. "Just us and Lyn-z. That would be, like, 6 people. Well..." he threw Frank a quick look. "5 and a half."

"Hey!" Frank yelled, immediately throwing popcorn.

"I dunno," I hesitated, thinking of how she might react.

"Come on, Gerard," Bob begged.

"Yeah, Gee," Mikey chimed in. "What's the worst that could...oh, wait. But besides that!"

"We'll be nice," Frank joined in.

"Well," I sighed, still unsure of the idea. "Fine. But if you guys scare her-"

"We won't, Gee!" Mikey excitedly reassured me.

"You won't regret it!" Frank jumped on me with a hug.

"I'd better not," I warned him, hugging back.

* * *

**Milly POV**

I had no idea musicians could practice their music for so long. I had no idea I'd hate it so much, either. But being stuck with Gerard's wife for so long kinda scared me, especially since I'd pissed her off so badly the other day.

"Milly!" she yelled from the kitchen.

I poked my head out of my room and went far enough down the hall so that I could see her.

"Dinner," she told me, a cold edge to her voice.

_Come on, Gerard, _I thought frantically. _Hurry up._


	5. Chapter 4

**NOTE: **ok, sorry it took me so long, but i've been working on some other stuff, so i haven't been paying much attention to this one. probably why i feel like this chapter's so weird. I think I forgot to mention that this is a ferard fan fic. I dunno if this changes your opinion or not, but i just had to warn you. as for lyn being such a bitch...i dunno, i just felt like she had to be one for this to work. sorry.

next chapter won't take so long. hope you enjoy this one!

Chapter 4

**Gerard POV**

"You're gonna throw her a party?" Lyn asked with the scary tone I knew all too well. "We should be punishing her right now and you're going to _throw her a party?"_

"A small one," I squeaked defensively.

"Oh, big difference," she hissed sarcastically, slamming the closet door shut and throwing her pajama's on the bed.

"Ah, come on, babe," I pleaded, sitting on the bed. "She's probably gonna get scared and run to her room, anyway."

"And that makes it better?" she laughed, pulling off her shirt. "Come on, Gee, did you even think this through?"

"Yes," I huffed. "And it was the guys idea, not mine."

"Still requires thinking," she sang, seeming to calm down.

"Gah!" I growled. "It's supposed to get her at least a _little_ used to us, can't we at least try?"

She sighed, now stripped down to just her underwear. "Fine."

"Thank you," I crooned, giving her a big grin.

She started to pull on her pajama shirt, when I stopped her.

"Are you sure you wanna wear that one?"

"'That one', as in, my pajama's?"

"I like the other one better," I frowned.

"I don't...have another one,"

"Exactly," I laughed, bringing her down to the bed, laughing with me.

That Saturday, Bob and Ray came over at about 5 pm, bringing a cooler with alcohol-free beer -or, at least, I hoped it was alcohol free- and juice, which I assumed was for Milly.

"Are serious?" I asked, picking up one of the cartons full of high fructose corn syrup. "She's a traumatized 11-year-old, not a toddler."

"I read somewhere it helps calm their nerves," Bob said.

"Really?" Ray asked.

"No, I'm just defending myself,"

Mikey came shortly after them, followed by Frank, who had thought to bring Sparky, one of his _19_ dogs.

"Oh, Milly," Frank sang. "Where's Milly, I wanna meet Milly! Is she hiding in her room already? Bob, what did you do?"

"I didn't do anything, I swear!" Bob whined.

"Come oooon!" Frank exclaimed. "I'm ready for the party, even if it is tiny and pathetic!"

"Frank," I demanded, grabbing his chin and trying my hardest not to laugh. "Calm. The hell. Down. _You're_ gonna scare Milly."

"You're smiling," Frank pointed cheerfully. "I'm not _so_ bad."

"I'm gonna go get Milly, now," I chuckled, letting go of his chin.

**Frank POV**

I hadn't noticed I was holding my breathe until he let go of my chin and walked away. I let it out in a shuddered fashion, then looked over towards the living room, where everyone was talking and laughing.

I eyed Lyn-z angrily, though I knew I had no right to. It's not like I had ever tried to get where she was, and it's not like I even had a shot. I was just a crazy little dude with a crush on a straight man. A _married_ straight man. Not exactly how I imagined I would be driven insane.

So what do I do about it? Hang out with the most obnoxious girls in the world, who are supposedly the hottest, and try to distract myself by pretending it'll pass sooner than a hangover....

Making out on stage didn't help. Neither did the fact that _I _was supposed to be a married straight man.

Sparky's yipping snapped me out of my cruel thoughts, and informed me that Gerard was back, with a terrified looking blonde girl right behind him.

**Milly POV**

I'd never been terrified of going to a party before. But the pounding of my heart and the sweat I felt bead around my forehead were definitely not figments of my imagination. One part of me knew that it was a crazy idea that Gerard would ever do something to hurt me, who he'd willingly decided to care for. But another part of me, the paranoid part, wasn't so sure.

I heard a yipping of a dog, and immediately tried to turn around.

"Milly," Gerard whined, guilt tripping me immediately. "Come on. Please?"

I breathed in deeply and continued, convinced for some reason that I would regret it.

The first thing I saw was a pomeranian dog, probably the one I'd heard earlier. Then, a gothic man with a lot of tattoos, who would've scared me if he wasn't so short.

"Sparky!" the man exclaimed, looking at his dog, who was now only a foot away from me.

I knew pomeranians weren't the nicest dogs, but this dog in particular didn't scare me, so I reached down to pet him.

The dog began hopping and licking me in excitement, lightening my mood a little.

Just enough to know I could bare the rest of the night.

**Gerard POV**

Milly's encounter with Sparky did scare me a little, since I knew Frank had at least two other dogs that were probably friendlier than Sparky, but Sparky liked Milly and didn't seem to scare her, so I lightened up.

"Milly," I began. "This is Frank's dog, Sparky. And this is Frank."

Frank gave a half wave, much calmer than he had been before.

I motioned her over to the living room to introduce her to the other guys, who also waved and said hi. A disturbed look briefly crossed her face, probably due to the piercings, but faded quickly. She eyed Lyn-z nervously, but after that seemed as comfortable as she could be. Surrounded by 6 other people, that is.

**Milly POV**

I didn't know much about poker, but I knew it was normally considered a gambling game. So...I kinda wondered why they were teaching me how to play. I mean, I was always taught it wasn't something I should learn. But I tried not to think about that.

We were in the middle of the second game when I heard the doorbell ring.

**Frank POV**

"Milly," Gerard begged nervously. "Milly, calm down. It's just the doorbell. Lyn, can you-"

"I got it," she assured him.

Milly sat, paralyzed, drawing in quick and shuddery breathes.

"What are you doing here?" Lyn suddenly asked.

"I didn't want to miss the big party," Jimmy laughed.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me," Gerard hissed.


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N Haha, okay, I think I kinda accidentally lied last time when I said it wouldn't take me that long again. Anyway, I'll _try _not to take so long. There.**

**BTW, thanks for the reviews! Enjoy(or try to).  
**

Chapter 5

**Gerard POV**

"You have _got_ to be kidding me," I hissed.

The doorbell alone was enough, now _Jimmy_ was here. Under any other circumstances, I would've loved being with him. But not if Milly was going to go berserk being around him.

Jimmy pushed past Lyn, though I wasn't entirely sure if she had invited him in, and walked over towards us, surprisingly unconfident.

Milly looked up at Jimmy, a mixture of anger and fear on her face. In turn, Jimmy looked down at her, with a look of mere worry. Probably scared she'd punch his balls again.

"Jimmy..." I started, trying to keep calm. "Can I talk to you...like...privately?"

He rolled his eyes, ever so slightly, obviously knowing where I was going with this. "Sure."

I got up and grabbed his arm, leading him into the next room.

"Ow," he muttered, following me reluctantly.

"No offense," I whispered. "I know you're not trying to...well...okay, here's the thing. We -Lyn and I- are trying _really hard_ to make Milly feel...you know, not scared for her life...and at least a little more comfortable. And...see...unexpected visits...don't help. Especially...well, this just doesn't help. Believe me, we're glad to see you, but...not like this."

"Alright, alright," he sighed, looking down. "So I guess you want me to leave."

"Well," I mumbled. "There's really no point now, she's seen you, she's officially been scared to death...figuratively...so leaving really wouldn't make much of a difference."

"Okie then!" he chimed, a little too loudly.

He walked back into the next room, his usual over-confident self once again.

Milly's eyes darted back and forth between him and me, with a confused and slightly horrified expression, almost as if she were saying, "I can't believe you!"

I attempted an apologetic expression at her, just when I felt Frankie's hand on my arm.

"You...are a wimp," he whispered.

"Well thanks, Frankie," I said, pressing as much sarcasm as I could into my words.

I looked over at the rest of the guys, who had happy expressions on their faces. Frankie was obviously the only one who knew what was going on.

"So what are we doing?" Jimmy asked, sitting next to Lyn-z.

"Poker," Mikey smirked. "Always a good game to teach the kids."

"It was Bob's idea," Ray added immediately.

"Aw, come on," Bob laughed. "Why is everything always my fault?"

"Cause you have no backbone," Frankie teased him, sitting down on his left.

I sat back down in between Milly and Lyn, hoping I wouldn't regret letting him stay.

* * *

As I turned out...the drinks weren't alcohol-free. I felt myself get a little tipsy and stopped. Or...rather, tried to stop. It was more along the lines of drinking at a slower pace.

I just hoped that it was an accident on Bob's part...or Ray's...whoever came up with the idea.

As time passed, Milly seemed to become more and more paranoid, and eventually picked up a pen and piece of paper and told me she was going to bed. I looked at the clock, and noticed it was only 7:45.

"Okay," I said, trying to contain a hiccup.

"Milly!" Jimmy exclaimed, _way_ too loudly. "Where ya goin' girl?"

"Jimmy...caaaaalm," Mikey whispered, giggling. "Too loud."

Milly disappeared, and I vaguely wondered if we were actually making her time with us worse.

I picked up a bottle of beer, though truthfully I didn't know if it was mine, and tried to take a sip. Somehow, every time I tried, I thought about Milly. I wasn't a violent drunk...but it still couldn't have been good for her.

The thought stressed me, so I tried, once again, to take a swallow of beer. And again: Milly. A cycle started that confused me enough to hurt my head, so I ended up just putting the bottle down.

"Hey, Mike," I said.

"Jaw?" he asked, jerking his head toward me.

"D'you think we're actin a little too drunk for her?"

"Who?" he droned.

"Milly, fool," I snapped.

"Aw, cm'on," he squeaked. "Drunk'n peeps aren't too bad. Not verses that other stuff."

"But...but imagine it from an eleven-year-old's mind," I pressed.

Mikey chuckled a little, then joked in a high-pitched voice. "Let's go play with the butterflies, Charlie! That's all...."

I decided Mikey wasn't in the best condition to have a serious conversation, and judging by the way the other guys were acting, I guessed they weren't, either. In order to avoid hurting their heads, I looked around for Lyn.

I stumbled up off the couch, and went in search of her, figuring if anyone were sane, it would be her.

I peeked into the kitchen door, finding both her and Jimmy standing by the island.

In strangely close proximity.

Suddenly, before either Lyn-z or I could react, Jimmy grabbed the back of her neck and pressed his mouth against hers.

My blood ran cold, while all that heat rushed to my face.

"Jimmy," I growled.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Lyn and Jimmy jerked away from each other, surprise and fear all over both of their faces. That's what got me the most. _Both_ of them.

"Ger-ad," Jimmy slurred.

_They're drunk, _I realized.

It still didn't help.

My mind went in all different directions, not sure whether I should stand there and cry, run out of the house in fury, or just run and kick Jimmy in the balls. Meanwhile, my body went on without my mind, deciding for itself my reaction.

I slowly backed out of the room, feeling pressure convene in my throat. Avoiding Lyn's gaze, I headed back into the other room, then out to the back porch.

I heard a little muttering as I pulled out a cigarette and a lighter. I put the cigarette in my mouth and, with a shaking hand, lit it up, just as I heard footsteps.

"Gee?"

I turned around, rather slowly, and leaned against the porch rail to face Frankie.

"You okay?" he asked, a worried expression on his face.

"Fine," I lied, knowing he'd see through it.

"Sure," he whispered, walking over toward me and taking a cigarette.

"Where are the rest of the guys?" I asked, noticing they couldn't be seen through the window.

"They left," he said, lighting up. "Miraculously. Well, Mikey didn't."

"And Jimmy?"

"He's gone, too,"

"How?" I asked incredulously.

"I don't know," he laughed.

"They're crazy," I muttered, taking in a long drag.

He waited a moment, smoking, then asked what I knew he was dying to know.

"What happened?"

"Frankie," I sighed, looking down and exhaling a puff of smoke. "Please...don't."

"Sorry," he mumbled.

He fell into silence, but I knew it was still on his mind.

"They were drunk," I started, despite myself. "I knew that. She didn't mean anything by it. By kissing him. I just...overreacted."

"Well...Gee..."

"No..." I murmured. "They didn't mean anything by it."

"You sure you're okay?" he asked, dropping the butt and stepping on it.

"Yeah," I assured him. "Yeah, I'm...I'm fine."

"Okay," he said, a bit doubtfully. "Well...I think I have to...get back to Jamia, but...call me. If you need to."

"Will do," I said, smiling a little.

He gave a small nod and walked back inside.

* * *

I stayed out on the porch for a while before going back to find the body of Mikey passed out next to my couch.

"Scoot, little bro," I muttered, nudging him a little with my foot, though I knew it was pointless.

I sighed and leaned over him to get on the couch. Then, knowing what hell tomorrow would bring, I drifted off to sleep.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

When I said hell, I really wasn't thinking about the physical hell I had put myself in. But _damn_ it felt _worse_ than hell. Of course, I didn't drink nearly as much as Mikey, so I probably didn't feel nearly as bad as he would when he would finally wake up.

"Gee?" Lyn whispered softly, handing me aspirin and coffee.

For a moment, I not only forgave her but loved her more than I had before.

"Thanks," I muttered.

"So...last night," she started. "Didn't exactly go according to plan, did it?"

"Hm," I chuckled. "No...no it didn't."

"What happened to Milly?" she asked.

"Actually," I said, slightly relieved from the memory. "I think she went to bed before anything seriously scaring happened to her."

"That's good," she sighed.

I tried to think of a way to discretely ask her about her antics.

"So...your hangover already gone?"

"Almost," she half laughed.

Thank God.

* * *

**Frank POV**

_I'm...I'm fine...._

His lie kept echoing in my head. Why did he do this to himself? I mean...I tried not to pay much attention to Lyn-z, but she didn't seem that drunk to me. But maybe I was biased.

Of course, right after I got home, Jamia freaked. I'd forgotten to tell her where I was going for that five hour period.

Haha, woops.

So she went to bed angry, I went to bed even more annoyed than I was before...everything was how it should be.

I had no idea how Milly was doing, but I imagined she wasn't feeling very fond of us after that drunken escapade. I don't blame her, either.

I'd yet to call Gerard, mainly because of Mikey, but also because Gerard seemed a little drunk last night himself. An especially bad thing for a recovering alcoholic. But, you know...anything to welcome a kid into your family....

Anyway.

Somehow, Jamia's a later sleeper than I am, so for about an hour before she woke up, I took Sparky on a walk. Which, minus cleaning up his crap every five minutes, felt relatively relaxing. Until Gerard called me.

"Hello?"

"Hey Frank," Gee chimed through the phone. "So last night- In the trash, Mikey! Anyway. So last night, I know you've probably got a pretty bad headache now- Wait, but you didn't drink. Anyway. So last night, you know Lyn-"

"Yeah, yeah," I interrupted. "It was all their drunken stupidity. I thought we knew that."

I realized I sounded harsher than I intended to be.

"I mean," I quickly added. "You didn't expect her to actually want to do that, did you?"

"Yeah," he said slowly. "But other than that...so Milly...."

"Oh crap," I chuckled. "How badly did we scar her?"

"Actually," he said, obviously smirking on the other end. "_You_ didn't."

"Oh," I exclaimed, a little revolted. "Oh! Nice."

"Not like that!" he chided. "You know what I mean."

"No I don't," I argued, jerking on Sparky's leash and pulling him back in the direction of home.

"Yeah, you do," he fought back.

"No," I persisted. "Actually, I'm a little confused."

"More so than you should be," he grunted.

"Explain," I demanded.

"Are you retarded?"

"Darf," I grunted.

"Funny," he exclaimed in fake humor.

"Are you gonna tell me?" I asked.

"Tell you what?"

"What do you mean, tell me what?"

"I forgot what we were talking about," he said flatly.

"Were you even serious?" I laughed, pulling Sparky into the front yard.

"I don't know," he muttered mysteriously. "I think I did it to confuse you."

"Yet you said I wasn't confused," I scoffed, noticing Jamia sitting in a suspicious manner.

"I did?"

"Um...Gerard...I gotta go," I whispered into the phone.

"Uh-oh...trouble with Mrs. Iero?"

"Yeah...I'll call you back,"

"Good luck," he bade me.

"See ya," I muttered.

I trotted up the stairs onto the porch, Sparky trailing behind me reluctantly. The thing that stuck out the most to me was her potent glare, directly aimed at me.

"Hey...babe, what's up?" I asked, a bit nervously.

She heaved an exhausted sigh to let me know just how irritated she felt. "Frankie...where were you last night?"

"Um...Gee's house," I told her, starting to realize there _must _have been a mistake involved in going. "Why?"

"Why were you at Gee's house?" she asked, obviously trying to make this more civil than last night's conversation.

"Cause," I said, starting to get irritated myself.

"Is that _really _the only reason?" she asked me doubtfully.

"Why do I have to have a reason for everything I do?" I snapped.

"You don't," she assured me. "I'd just like to know before you disappear for _five hours_. What were you doing?"

"Telling Milly to run, before Gerard ravaged her mind and raped her body and soul," I whispered in the creepiest way possible.

She raised an eyebrow, waiting for my actual response.

"We were making sure she knew we weren't hostile," I whined, reaching down to pet Sparky.

"Why couldn't you tell me _before_ you left?"

"I dunno, I didn't realize you'd freak out,"

"You didn't _realize_?" she snapped.

"Like that...."

She shot out of her seat and stormed past me toward her car.

"Where are you _going_?" I asked, close to laughing at her behavior.

"Well, I'm sorry, I didn't _realize_ it would bother you," she barked.

"Jamia," I half laughed. "What-"

"Just screw off, Frank!"

The _hell_ was her problem?

* * *

**Gerard POV**

It took a couple of hours, but everyone's hangover finally went away, and Milly deemed us well enough to handle her. Mikey and I took her out to the backyard in hopes of playing frisbee.

"Is Lyn-z still mad about the adoption thing?" Mikey muttered while Milly continued rummaging through the bin, obviously not looking for a frisbee.

"Well," I sighed. "She won't call it adoption. Which I guess it isn't. I don't think. I dunno."

"Foster parenting?" he suggested.

"Maybe...I dunno. But she's not mad. Anymore, at least."

Milly jerked back around and sat in a rigid position, with her hand between her legs. She wore a skirt, a darker shade of blue than usual, with a sky blue top. Truthfully, the blue made me wonder about her. I mean...if blue was her grieving color...what was her happy color? Or maybe...it _wasn_'_t_ her grieving color.

"Got it?" I asked her.

She nodded and rolled a baseball toward me.

"Um...okay," I agreed, looking at Mikey to find an amused expression on his face.

I picked up the ball and herded Mikey to the middle of the yard.

"All right," I said, handing Milly the ball, while avoiding direct contact with her at the same time. "You start."

She raised an eyebrow, as though she expected me to start. Or maybe it had something to do with the fact that we were barely four feet apart.

She threw it over my head and about ten feet past the triangle we had formed.

"Are we playing catch or fetch?" I asked, turning around to get the ball, yet still noticing a timid smirk appear on her face.

I went back to what used to be the triangle, noting that Mikey had scooted back about fifteen feet.

"What, did she fart?" I asked Mikey, looking at Milly.

Milly's eyes narrowed and she stuck her tongue out at me.

"She stuck her tongue out," I gasped in fake horror. "Oh, we got a rebellious one here. What are we gonna _do _with her?"

"I say," Mikey started mischievously. "That we...play...catch."

I looked at him, aiming for an "are you serious?" look. "Really?"

"Yeah, I know," he spat. "That was bad."

"Ignore him," I told Milly, prepared for Mikey's worst.

I tossed the ball toward Mikey, and stared back at his narrow eyes.

Milly giggled; short, and girly.

I looked back at her as she caught the ball Mikey threw at her, a little surprised. She hadn't giggled since she came to live in California. I doubt she'd giggled since her parents died.

_Aw man,_ I thought. _I have to tell Frankie this._


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N: Soo...hehe, Frankie really likes the word hell in this chapter. Um...I really didn't mean to make Jamia so moody, it just kinda happened, but I think it'll turn out better this way. I'm gonna say this based on how one person reacted to Lyn being moody...sorry if it offends you! BTW, thanks for all the reviews!**

**Frankie POV**

_Do not call her,_ I told myself firmly, griping the arm of my chair with unnecessary strength. _She just needs a Midol...do. Not. Call her._

I jumped out of my seat in shock as my cell phone began to ring. After looking to see who it was, I gave a sigh of relief and flipped it open.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Hiya, Frankie!" Gee chirped from the other end. "So how's Jamia doing?"

"Fine," I said, suppressing a groan. "She just...has an estrogen overload, that's all. So, what's up?"

"Guess what Milly did," he told me.

"She punched Billy Maize in the balls," I guessed.

"Respect the dead, Frankie," Gerard told me, though rather flippantly.

He went on to tell me about playing catch with her and making her laugh. I didn't feel entirely sure it could be considered call-worthy news, but it at least made me think about something other than Jamia.

"So...wait...Billy Maize is dead?" I asked.

Gerard paused for a moment, probably wondering why I felt more concerned about him than Milly. "Yes...Frankie...Billy is dead. Now what about Milly?"

"Hehe," I chuckled. "Billy Milly."

"Funny," Gerard said, though not that amused.

"How did he die?" I asked, actually interested.

"I dunno, I think a suitcase fell on his head,"

I burst out laughing, though that definitely wasn't something I should have found funny.

"Oh, I'm going to hell," I said.

"Yes, you are!" Gerard laughed. "But...seriously...what about Milly?"

"What about her?"

"You know what, dumbbutt!"

"You're in a very poetic mood today," I noted.

"What can I say, you make me feel Valentiny,"

"As long as you're the tiny one," I said, smirking.

"Oh shut up," he chuckled. "We both know I'm bigger where it matters."

"Like hell you are!" I exclaimed.

"A very, very sexy hell,"

"Ew," I squeaked.

I heard a beep in my ear and looked to see who was trying to call me.

"Gee, I gotta go," I blurted out.

"Why?"

"Someone's trying to call me,"

"Jamia?"

"I dunno, I have to go,"

"Okay," he sighed.

"Bye,"

"Love you!" he added.

Though I knew he was at least slightly joking, my heart still skipped a beat. I flipped over to the other call, even though I didn't recognize the number.

"Hello?"

"Um...Frankie?"

"Jamia?"

"Yeah...um...look, I only have three minutes, so I need-"

"Hey, that's what Reese Witherspoon said in Sweet Home-"

"Yes!" she snapped. "When she was in jail!"

"Are you in jail?"

A slight pause.

"Yes, baby, I'm in jail," she said, sounding more than a little annoyed.

"Is that a sarcastic-"

"No!" she exclaimed. "I have about two minutes left, so please don't waste it making jokes."

"Okay," I said. "I'm going to guess I should just skip to the part where I agree to come bail you out. Wait, what did you do?"

* * *

"Assault on minor?" I repeated in a tone as low and menacing as possible.

My wife looked back at me through the metal bars with an expression of pure torture.

"What in the _hell_ did the midgets ever do to you?" I asked, realizing that couldn't have been nearly as dramatic as I had hoped.

"I dunno about _those_ midgets, but _you-_"

"Or I could just _not_ bail you out, that's always a possibility," I said, starting to walk away.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" she burst.

"Do you know how much bail is for that?" I snapped, almost ready to throw a chainsaw at her.

"Yes," she squeaked, backing away.

"Fifty. Grand," I whispered, gripping the jail so tightly my fingers began to feel numb. "I'm tempted to just leave you in there for five years."

"You are?" she whimpered.

"Yeah," I said, not really caring how cruel it sounded.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, tears beginning to well around her eyes. "I really am, I'm really sorry. I didn't think-"

"That's one _hell of an understatement_!" I roared, forgetting about the dozens of other people in there, including the guards.

"Frankie!" she cried. "I'm sorry!"

"I'll be back," I growled, turning away from her and back to the front desk.

* * *

"Baby," Jamia begged, a quiver in her voice.

"Jamia, don't speak right now," I snapped, gripping the wheel and attempting not to look at her.

"But I-"

"Just shut up," I said, aiming for a warning tone in my voice.

I began pulling out of the parking lot, being strangely careful. Of course, I probably just didn't want to get into a wreck in front of a jail. Silently, I drove her home, though I started feeling a bit guilty for being so harsh on her and not even listening to her side of the story. But fifty grand? Come on.

Jamia had me so wound up that I couldn't possibly go to sleep, but I went to bed anyway; if not to sleep, then to at least read. Halfway through the second page, however, I felt her sit down on the bed. Obviously she had forgotten how to tell when it was safe to be near me. I ignored her for a while, hoping she wouldn't speak, and continued to read.

Eventually guilt got the better of me, forcing me to acknowledge her presence.

I sighed and put the book down. "Babe...come here."

She crawled timidly in my lap, almost like a little girl waiting for her dad to tell her a bedtime story.

"Jamia...I love you," I told her sincerely, brushing her hair out of her face. "You know I love you. But fifty grand?"

"I'm sorry," she whined.

"What happened?" I asked.

"I don't know," she squeaked, beginning to cry again. "He just...came up and...and he was...he was just being a typical...obnoxious....It didn't register in my...in my mind."

She started sobbing, a very unusual thing for her to do. "I don't know what's wrong with me! I'm a bitch, Frankie."

"Hey, hey!" I said, giving a pathetic attempt to wipe her tears away. "No...no, you're not. You're just...."

She wrapped her arms around my neck and buried her head against my shoulder. I froze, considering three options, only one of which I liked.

"Baby...when was your last...um...cycle?"

She snapped her head up, looking more angry than anything else.

"Do I _look_ pregnant to you or something?"

I paused again. "That's beside the point."

She slapped me, apparently offended by that remark. It wasn't hard...but still.

"Oh my God!" she squeaked, covering her face with her hands. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

"It's okay," I whispered, deciding to be more careful.

"It's just...that's not it. I mean...the last time we...and that was before...and that's- that's over...."

More tears began to fall as, once more, she buried her head against my shoulder.

"Hon..." I paused, trying to figure out what she just said.

Maybe that was a better task for tomorrow.

"I'm sorry," she said.

I waited a moment before attempting another suggestion. "Do you think...you need to see a pyschiatrist?"

He head snapped up again and I prepared for another slap.

"You think I'm crazy?" she asked, a bit menacingly.

I bit back a typical response and came up with a serious response, for my life's sake.

"No, Jamie," I assured her. "I just think...you may need help."

"You think I'm crazy!" she shrieked.

"Well...I didn't before-"

"Oh!" she screamed, storming out of our room.

I ran after her, though I realized this had to be one of the most ridiculous fights we'd ever gotten into...that was serious, anyway.

"Honey, I'm just worried about you," I told her. "It's not like you to go beat up random squirts on the street."

"Just shut up!" she sobbed, sinking down beside the couch. "You obviously don't even know me!"

"Oh, I'm sure I just can't possibly-"

"And you think it's okay to be sarcastic?" she yelled.

"Honey, you're-"

"Don't call me honey," she growled, getting back up. "I'm _not_. _Crazy_!"

"I didn't say you were!"

"You think it!"

"No I don't!"

"I'm sorry," she mumbled, wrapping her arms around my neck again.

I paused again, utterly confused. "Is...is this some...advanced form of bipolar disorder, or are you just messing with me?"

"Oh!" she shrieked, storming away.

I ran after her, sure she couldn't be thinking of going out again.

"Where are you going?" I asked as she began putting on her coat.

"Away," she stated simply.

"No you're not," I laughed, jerking her coat away.

"What, you think you can stop me?"

"Oh, burn," I snapped meanly. "The threat within the accusation."

"What does that mean?" she growled.

"It means, you cost me fifty grand the last time you went out angry, and I'm not paying another fifty now."

"Shut up," she snapped.

"You need help," I said.

"Well that's gonna cost you fifty grand right there," she said.

"And I don't blame any therapist for charging that much to take care of you,"

Her mouth opened in horror and she tugged at the coat in my hands.

"No," I laughed, feeling a little condescending.

"I don't need that," she muttered, jerking her keys off the table.

I grabbed her and took them out of her hands.

"Asswipe!" she spat. "Gemme my keys!"

"No," I told her firmly.

"I hate you!"

"Well you're stuck with me!" I exclaimed.

"No I'm not!" she cried, beating my chest.

"For better or worse," I sung, holding her keys up high.

"I want a divorce!" she screeched, beating my chest. "I want a divorce!"

She buried her head against my chest and let her fists rest on my shoulders.

"I want a divorce," she muffled into my chest.

What, was I supposed to hug her now?

"And I suppose if you throw a temper tantrum, you think you're gonna get it?" I asked, feeling again like a father dealing with his child.

She let out another screech and punched my chest one last time before storming off into the night.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Okay, maybe I shouldn't have mentioned our marriage. It only gave her an idea. But did she really expect me to believe _that_ would be her solution? She knew better than that. Even moody, she knew we had to talk.

Well, she didn't get very far. She came back around ten minutes later, red in the face and still just as upset as she had been before. Meanwhile, I hadn't moved at all, thinking carefully about how I would do this.

"I thought you'd be in bed," she sneered.

"So you can sell my fender and poison the dogs while I sleep? No!"

"Funny," she said dryly.

"Jamie," I said softly, walking up to her.

I paused, waiting to see if she would slap me, then cautiously played with a strand of her hair. "I _love_ you. Do you know how much I love you?"

And I meant it. My feelings for Gee didn't change the fact that I loved Jamia. Maybe not the same way I loved Gee, but I did love her.

She merely nodded, finally seeming to calm down.

"I don't want to lose you,"

"I didn't mean it," she mumbled.

"I'm not talking about that," I said.

"You don't even know-"

I cut her off with a quick kiss. "I just want you to be happy. _Are you happy_?"

"Right now, or in general?" she asked.

"Normally that answer would mean there's a 'no' in there somewhere," I muttered bleakly.

"Frankie, I just wanna go to bed right now," she sighed. "Can we talk about this tomorrow?"

I looked down at the ground, feeling a sharp stab of pain in my heart. She really had me worried.

I sighed, still not looking at her, and nodded.

She pushed past me, toward the bedroom, without another word to me.

* * *

**Milly POV**

_Fire...why was there fire?_

_A torch...being planted in the ground by a man. The man drew a knife from his pocket...but it already dripped with blood. He flicked the blood to the ground...my line of sight went crazy; I couldn't focus at all. I finally found a place on the deck where I could focus._

_Fear consumed me...maybe horror is a better way to describe it. I jerked around; but it didn't matter. I couldn't free myself. Ropes bound my hands together, and the knife, dripping with blood, that pressed against the bare flesh of my neck fixed my gaze for me. It forced it to something I didn't want to see. Something that heightened my fear to a level I'd never experienced before. I couldn't look at it...I couldn't look away, either...I couldn't close my eyes...no matter how hard I forced myself-_

_

* * *

  
_

**Gee POV**

A high pitched shriek jerked me awake, forcing me to leave my comfortable dream world of...bunnies, or whatever the hell was going through my mind. Why is it always bunnies?

Milly.

I flung the covers away, not bothering to figure out whether or not Lyn-z had decided to do the same. It didn't matter to me anymore. Somehow, for some reason, I always wanted to be there to comfort Milly, whether Lyn comforted her or not.

Trying not to scare her even more, I slipped inside her room, turning the light on immediately.

"Mil," I said, walking over to her. "It's just a bad dream, it's...."

I paused, trying not to say the typical words: "it's okay." We both knew she wasn't. Otherwise she wouldn't be gripping her sheets and sobbing.

She jerked around, probably trying to find the pad of paper and pen I'd left in her room. She found it and, still sobbing, scribbled something down.

I closed the remaining distance and knelt down by her bed, taking the pad from her to read it.

_Why can't I ever wake up?_

_

* * *

  
_

**Frankie POV**

I went to bed a while after Jamia, though I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep. It felt a little awkward now, trying to sleep in the same bed as her, after all that had happened that day. I laid beside Jamia while she slept, just staring at her, almost like I thought I could fix whatever bothered her simply by will. As if my will was ever enough.

I must have drifted off to sleep at some time, because I woke to find light, and Jamia still asleep next to me. Her hair had fallen down in her face a little, so I reached over and played with it. Her eyes flickered open and a tiny smile crossed her face.

"Morning," she mumbled.

"Morning," I said, feeling slightly scared of her smile.

I leaned over to kiss her forehead, while she reached up and took my hand. She brushed my hand a bit mindlessly, then let go and began plucking at my shirt.

"How do you feel?" I asked, hoping she wouldn't explode again.

"Fine," she muttered, obviously lying.

I waited to see if she'd say anything else, but she seemed to have become a closed book. She started caressing my chest, though I couldn't really tell why.

"Frankie," Jamia muttered suspiciously, still rubbing my chest up and down.

"Yeah?"

I waited, while she continued caressing me, with noticeably less interest.

"I want a divorce."

For a moment, I felt confused. She had seemed pretty much herself again, but this wasn't like her.

"Babe-"

"No," she whispered, putting her fingers over my lips. "I'm not crazy...I'm not moody. I just...want a divorce."

"What?" I gasped.

"I want-"

"Jamie, no," I squeaked, sitting up to stare down at her.

"Babe...I know...what I'm saying now," she told me, also sitting up. "I'm not delusional. It's...not that I don't love you...you just...aren't what I thought you were."

"Jamie, we can work-"

"No," she cut me off again. "I just. Want. _A divorce_."


	11. Chapter 10

**A/N: Heh...sorry about the wait, to those of you who actually sincerely enjoy this fic...and sorry to those of you who may be offended by the very last part, but it's there for a reason. i'll give you a hint: therapy. aaand now imma stop babbling.**

Chapter 10

**Gee** **POV**

Milly couldn't calm down this time; she just eventually cried herself to sleep. I vaguely wondered what I could do to help her, but I knew there was nothing more I _could_ do, except try to help her get back to sleep every _damn_ night.

"God," I whispered, pulling the blanket back over her. "You must be exhausted. Get some rest tonight, Milly."

I crawled back into bed with Lyn and wrapped my arm around her waist. She seemed to be getting fairly used to Milly, however that didn't mean she liked her. But surely she wasn't still mad about the Jimmy thing.

"That took you a while," she mumbled.

"I think she's starting to feel worse," I explained.

"It's only been two months, babe," she said. "She won't feel better anytime soon."

"I know," I groaned.

"She'll be fine," Lyn sighed, rolling over to face me. "She just needs time."

I kissed Lyn's forehead and sighed, then started to fall back asleep.

* * *

**Frankie** **POV**

_Concentrate, _I told myself, gripping the wheel roughly. _It's okay. It's all good. Stop shaking._

She was delusional. Something stressed her out; that's why she was acting like that. She didn't mean any of that.

I drew in a shaky breathe and stared down Gerard's driveway. Why did I even come here? I told him I'd call him, not come see him. I considered turning around, but I knew I couldn't go back home to Jamia.

My gaze flickered over to the brown folder in the passenger's seat. Shit, she was really on top of things. How long had she thought about this? Obviously long enough to get information on where to get divorce papers.

_Were you really just pretending?_

No. No.

Choking down bile (gross enough for ya?), I jerked the papers out of the seat, and stumbled out of the car, toward Gee's front door. I wiped the sweat off my hands and knocked, though I knew it would have been smarter to ring the doorbell. The door opened and Gee poked his head out.

"Frankie!" he exclaimed, looking happy, yet tired at the same time.

He froze and his expression changed to worry. "You all right? You look a little sick."

I handed him the brown folder and stepped past him, over the threshold, and toward his couch to hear his reaction.

"D...divorce papers?" Gee muttered.

I changed paths, walking mindlessly instead to the kitchen. "Yep."

"Was this...your idea?" he asked.

"Nope," I sighed, blocking out my emotions.

"Aw, Frankie," Gee whispered.

I spotted the left over beer from the party Saturday and snatched one up.

"Yeah," I muttered bitterly, cracking open the bottle. "She just started acting crazy, I didn't know it was 'cause she hated me. No, I'm sorry, I wasn't 'what she thought I was.' What the hell did she think I was? What kinda excuse is that?"

"A typical one,"

"Granted, she _says_ she'll pay me back for bail - I don't know _why_, though. We were married at the - well, we're still married, but by the time - you get my point! The point- well, no...that's not the point. I mean, it is, it's just a new one."

"Bail?" Gee interrupted.

"She attacked a midget," I said bluntly.

"You?"

I shot him a quick glare, letting him know he _could_ resist.

"Sorry," he muttered.

"Anyway...what was I saying?"

"Everything," he smirked.

"I don't even know,"

"Where's Jamia?"

"At home,"

"Doing what?"

I raised my eyebrow. "Um...sitting?"

"Seriously?"

"Uh...yeah...what else would she be doing?"

"Packing?"

"She's too bipolar for that,"

"Well, you know how Mikey was,"

"True. Maybe...but she slaps me every time I say she needs help...."

"They do that...crazy people are defensive about their mental health,"

My gaze flickered to the beer I hadn't touched. What he said seemed true...or maybe she just sincerely acted up because of her time of the month. I could never tell with her.

"So, anyway," I muttered, now determined to change the subject. "How's Milly?"

"She dances to Hanson," he smirked.

"You're kidding me," I laughed, finally taking a swallow of beer. "I've gotta see that."

"And she likes Hairspray,"

"The movie?"

* * *

**Gee** **POV**

I actually felt surprised that Frankie seemed so...calm. Well...a little bitter at first, maybe. But besides that, he didn't _seem_ too heartbroken. Of course, it may have been the three bottles of beer he chugged within fifteen minutes. But typically that makes him even _more_ emotional. Maybe he just wanted to act macho...but normally I could see through that.

Don't get me wrong...I wanted him to feel happy, and not heartbroken over some selfish bitch...but this just seemed unnatural. I expected him to cry. Or at least want to punch something. He just acted apathetic.

He spent the night, to Milly's surprise and delectation. I had a feeling she had become particularly attached to Frankie...or maybe she just had her first mentor crush. I preferred to think it was the former, as the latter felt a little creepy. Of course, I don't think she felt so fond of him that night, as he got drunk enough to put Saturday's party to shame. Lyn seemed to think the same way, as she conveniently had some errands to run just after he showed up.

Though he did eventually stop drinking beer, almost every attempt to get him to drink water failed. After a while, I decided to let him be, and listen to his slurs, which I couldn't understand. With Lyn gone, and Milly holed up in her room after about an hour of seeing Frankie, I ended up alone with him.

Frankie and I almost never have awkward moments, but for some reason, that situation felt awkward to me. Even though he kept talking drunkenly, and I didn't even have to respond, I still felt uncomfortable right until the moment he passed out. Maybe it had something to do with his drinking. But I think it was mainly his apathy. He never acted that way...and he'd broken up with Jamia before...why did he act that way now?

* * *

Our breakfast the next day was probably more of a lunch, as we all woke up around one in the afternoon. Of course...the next day I had a reason to feel guilty about that. The next day I also had a reason to have joy that drowned my guilt.

Milly slept through the night.

Despite Frankie's drunken episode, which probably caused _him_ more stress the next day than it ever caused Milly, she didn't have a nightmare. I could tell she felt just as elated when she came down for breakfast, even with a hungover and possibly bitchy Frankie seated under the table...for whatever good he thought _that_ would do. Granted, he didn't stay hungover for long. I got him hydrated and soon he seemed back to his normal self...more or less.

He sat at the table like a normal person and teased Milly with me. Since I became her foster parent, Milly developed a mad skill at giving me a half-glare-half-smirk that I strived quite often to incur. But that time, when trying to do so, I somehow managed to get a full glare instead of the half one. Since she can't just _not talk to me_, she decided staring me down for five minutes, then refusing to look at me at all, would accomplish the same task.

"Milly," I whined, once I'd realized she wasn't just playing.

She stabbed at her near empty plate, still giving me the...not...looking...treatment. Or whatever you'd want to call it.

"Milly," I warned.

She continued to ignore me, still upset.

"I don't think that tone works on kids anymore," Frankie said.

I jumped up and went over to the stereo, and then played track 2 for her, knowing she wouldn't resist this. Looking over at me, I saw surprise in her eyes -as well as in Frankie's- when she saw me using Hairspray moves for Hanson's number one hit.

"Come on, Milly," I whined. "Don't make me do it by myself."

"I have a better idea," Frankie suggested, keeping a mortified expression on his face. "Don't make him do it at all."

But seeing me screw up Hairspray was too much for her.

Skipping over to me -while keeping the beat of _Mmmbop-_ she danced with me, creating an amused expression on Frankie's face.

"Come on, Frank," I begged, spinning around. "Dance with us!"

"I think I'll pass on that," he yelled over the music.

I started singing along, making Milly smile.

The song ended and she skipped to the 5th track, then looked at me expectantly.

"Frankie?" I called, giving puppy dog eyes.

He hung his head in defeat, then walked over and started mimicking me.

"You better appreciate this," he said through a gritted smile. "Cause I'm not doing it again."

"Aw," I laughed, continuing to dance. "It's not that bad."

"It's not?"

"If you let yourself enjoy it, it's actually kinda fun."

"It's_ Hanson!_"

"Well," I said. "She's a 90's girl."

"She only got to see the last two years," he argued.

"I guess," I whispered in his ear. "You could say he hit her so hard, she was knocked back to the 90s."

"That's not even funny, Gee!," he exclaimed.

"I'm not trying to be," I muttered.


	12. Chapter 11

**A/N: Okie...so I know some of you are probably like, "Dang, this B takes forever to update, this SO ain't worth it." soo...yeah, sorry! Here it is.**

Chapter 11

I hadn't noticed it, but around two months after Milly's...incident...and about one month since Lyn and I had become her foster parents...something was missing. It didn't occur to me to really _do_ anything, until one day when Frankie came to my house and pointed out the obvious. The fact that I hadn't wondered about it really made me question myself, but Milly hadn't exactly questioned me, either.

But she's the eleven-year-old.

"I think she's crazy," Frankie said, as she continued her backward game of Jacks.

Which, of course, I had known. Everyone knew. We pretty much classified it as a fact that she had PTSD. But I didn't _do_ anything about it. Even if there wasn't a drug for it, I still should have made sure she was _seen_.

She still wore nothing but blue. Apparently she had either just found a blue A*Teens shirt in her pile of clothes, or she had just gotten the guts to wear it, because all the sudden that's all I saw on her. No one had bothered asking her why she wore blue; we figured it would just cause her to have another breakdown, which were becoming more prominent as time passed.

I looked at Frankie, hoping my eyes were wide enough for him to realize he had given me an epiphany.

"What?" he said, looking a little scared.

"_Yes_," I whispered.

He smiled and laughed a little. "Okay...yeah, I totally understand."

"She needs an appointment," I declared.

He looked at me and raised one eyebrow. "For wha- Oh! That's a good idea. Why haven't you done that before now?"

"Because you didn't give me the idea," I said accusingly. "_God_, Frankie, this is all _your_ fault."

"Oh, of course,"

"Milly!" I sang.

She looked up at me with huge eyes.

"You're going to get your head shrunk!"

She frowned and turned back to her game, which amused her _way_ too much.

"I don't think she appreciates you," Frankie said.

I laughed. "She does _not_ approve."

"What is the point of that game?" Frankie asked. "I mean, it's one thing to play the real game, but to switch it around makes it _way_ too easy."

"Eh...as long as I don't have to buy her...like, another toy, or whatever, then it's fine by me,"

"True," Frankie said. "It's like when I first got Shoo-Shoo."

"Are we really going to compare her to a dog?" I asked.

"You don't even need to buy anything; just crumple up a paper wad and she's happy for days,"

"I don't think Milly's _that_ easily amused,"

"Close enough," he said.

"I guess,"

* * *

**M** **POV**

_Do. Not. Want. Do. Not. Want. Do not want. Do. Not. Want!_

I repeated the words countless times in my mind, as if it would make Gee change his mind. But I couldn't really _talk,_ so it didn't matter. Plus, according to Lyn-z, he has a one-track mind. Whatever that means.

Normally, I appreciated his incessant checking to make sure I felt comfortable or whatnot, even though it's legitimately impossible for me to feel comfortable anymore. Not the whole California deal; I wouldn't feel comfortable in Oklahoma. More like someone other than my parents taking care of me.

But I wouldn't think of that.

I watched and listened as he made my appointment over the phone. It didn't take but one or two minutes, and Gee really didn't need to tell them all that much, but I still felt violated. In return, I tried to give him a glare, but...he wouldn't look at me. Just my shirt. Which kinda started creeping me out, but he spoke before it got too awkward.

"If I ask you a serious question, would you vomit?" he asked, looking dead serious while playing with his pen.

I almost laughed, but I didn't really want to give him that.

"Most people tend to vomit- Okay- Well, not literally, but they don't like serious questions," he finally looked at my face.

I aimed for a what-the-heck look.

"Or they give me looks like that," Gee said.

Then I tried my I-dislike-this-situation-almost-as-much-as-I-dislike-you-right-now look.

"I know you don't want therapy," he defended himself, putting down his pen. "But the whole...not talking thing. That's not...well, I mean, to a certain extent...you know, I bet- I don't know. You hungry?"

What _does_ one-track mind mean?

I shook my head.

"Well, you know, you didn't eat lunch," he said.

I really didn't have an expression to respond with.

"Yeah, I know, you...can't really respond to that," he said, getting up. "At least _try_ to eat something. Hey...no glaring. You're starting to act like a teenager. And teenagers scare the...nevermind. Too young."

Based on his singing voice, I had to assume that was a song. But I didn't really want to find out. While Gee's personality amused me, it didn't give me a good feeling about his band. Even though they're...like...platinum or something. But whatever. They're definitely not Hanson.

* * *

**Gee** **POV**

Mikey came over, while Milly and I were in the backyard, a little bit after I forced food down her throat. He seemed slightly pertubed about something, but I didn't want to ask him in front of Milly. He tends to get perturbed about things eleven-year-olds shouldn't hear....

"Hey," I said as he walked through the gate.

"Hey," he said, raising an eyebrow at Milly.

I'd started to predict her games would be eccentric, which I liked, but I wasn't any more prepared for today's game any more than Mikey. Actually, she didn't so much pick a game, as an activity. She decided to paint. But not paint like a normal human, no. She wanted to paint a hoola-hoop.

It felt kinda hard to tell where she was going with that.

"Yeah, I think therapy's a good idea," Mikey said. "Does she realize any of this is strange?"

"I dunno...yesterday she taped tape to the house,"

"What?" Mikey half-laughed.

"She made really big tape squares...and taped them to the walls...and then- Actually I think she did this as payback for Lyn- anyway, and then she soaked them in bubble stuff...and then she got bored and tried to blow bubbles with her hands like she saw on Spongebob- She's really weird."

Mikey laughed. "What did you expect?"

"I dunno," I smiled. "I tried to get her to do something normal, so I bought her Wii Fit...she played the penguin game, like, five times and then wouldn't use it again."

"It _would_ be the penguin game, wouldn't it?"

"I think the most normal thing she does is dance to 90s music in her room,"

"Does she play Fort?"

"Fort?" I asked, a little confused. "Why would she?"

"Oh my God, it would be _so_ awesome if she played Fort!"

"Why?"

"I dunno," he said. "Fort's fun."

"It is fun,"

"But she still doesn't talk?"

"No, she doesn't talk,"

"That sucks,"

"I dunno, she does a pretty good job of communicating with glares,"

I watched as Milly stood up, hoola-hoop in hand, and cast me a weary look. Most likely, she had a plan, and she still felt uncomfortable carrying it out without asking me. She tended to become guilty very easily whenever Lyn told her not to do something. And Milly's guilty looks always brought me down with her, so I tended to give into her wishes.

She walked over toward me and looked up at me, then at Mikey. She gave Mikey a quick greeting smile and then held the hoola-hoop out toward me.

"Um...thanks," I said, wondering if this was some cheesy "thank you for letting me paint your stuff" gift. "What's this for?"

She shrugged, then walked away.

"I think that's an 'I'm-bored-here-take-this' gesture," Mikey said.

"Probably,"

We waited as she went back inside the house, then Mikey turned and gave me a look that said he had bad news.

"Mr. Billy-Bob-What's-His-Face called," Mikey said.

I laughed lightly, feeling a little nervous. "What'd he say?"

"We have to have it ready in two weeks," he told me.

"So?" I asked.

"_So_? That's a _friggin_' _short_ _time_, Gee...we can't do an entire album in two weeks. I mean, yeah, Frankie wrote an entire album in two weeks, but we're aren't all Frankie!"

"Mikey," I laughed. "We can do it...relax."

"I can't...we need to start writing...like..._now_,"

"I have faith in us, Mikey," I said calmly. "What, you're not up for a challenge?"

"Yeah, I could be, if it weren't our _heads_ on the line,"

"That's a little bit of an exaggeration, have you taken your lithium lately?"

"What does that have- Yeah- No- Gerard! You're not taking this seriously,"

"I am," I argued. "I thought you were about to say we broke some contract shit, you nearly gave me a heart-attack."

"_Gee_," he groaned.

"Hey, okay, I'll tell you what," I said, slightly amused. "Call the guys, tell them to meet tomorrow at my house, because apparently we so urgently need to work on the record."

"Thank you," he said.

"Mr. Worry-Body," I said in baby-talk, pinching his cheeks.

He gave me a glare, which almost reminded me of Milly...except it was less amused.


	13. Chapter 12

**A/N: WOW it's been a while since I've updated. I'm really sorry, but school, babysitting, and volunteering has taken over my life. Plus I've been working on, like, five books. I'm sorry! Hope you like this chapter, and I've just had a burst for the next one, so it won't take that long. I hope. Enjoy!**

Chapter 12

**Frankie** **POV**

The rest of the guys still didn't know about Jamia, which actually seemed like a good idea until I figured out what the hell was going on. Jamia had already moved out, and she wouldn't call me, and she wouldn't take my calls. I couldn't tell if it was just estrogen, or embarrassment, or both.

Either way, Gerard sympathized..._way_ too much for comfort. I feared the rest of the guys would suspect something. From the moment we all sat down in his living room, he immediately started hugging me like a high school girl...and wouldn't let go.

"Hi," he said.

"Hi," I said, feeling slightly nervous.

"Lovebirds, pay attention!" Bob yelled at us.

"Fuck you!" I yelled back.

I liked hugs.

"Milly," Gerard said plainly.

"Oops," I half-laughed. "Sorry, Milly."

Milly nodded, though she looked slightly confused.

"I think you just taught her a new word," Mikey said.

"Uh-oh," I whined.

"Milly, that's a _bad_ word," Gee said calmly. "Don't use it."

"Does that patronizing tone not offend her?" Bob asked.

"She's right _here_," Gee said. "Don't talk about her like she's not here!"

"Shelby," I said in a country accent.

The other guys laughed, but Gee hit me, and I remembered she was from Oklahoma. I just couldn't help but be offensive today.

"Anyway!" Mikey said. "So, Frankie, you're not allowed to talk."

"Hey!" I shot back.

"I'm just saying, I don't wanna hear any 'this'll be easy!'..._Gerard_," Mikey said pointedly.

"Hey, you're freaking out over nothing," Gee defended himself.

"What _is_ he freaking out about?" Ray asked. "He didn't tell me anything."

"Why do you go around your asscheeks to make things difficult?" Gee asked Mikey.

"It's not _my_ asscheeks I go around," he smirked.

"That's disgusting," I said.

"So is going around my own asscheeks," Mikey said.

"Anyway!" Gee interrupted. "The due date for our record is in two weeks."

"Two weeks and one day, to be exact," Bob said.

"Which for some reason, we didn't know," Mikey said. "_Why_ didn't we know that?"

"Oh, that'll be _easy_!" I said, mainly to piss Mikey off. "I am a master-"

"-Bater, we know," Mikey interrupted.

"Now why you gotta be makin' everything dirty in front of Milly?" I asked. "That is not rad!"

Mikey looked at me, smirked, and ignored me.

"You are not a _gangsta_," Gee told me.

"That's not gangsta talk," I argued. "That's-"

"_Anyway_!" Mikey said.

I glanced behind Bob, where Milly had set herself down to draw, and saw she had stood up and was writing on the back of one of her drawings. She turned around and stuck the drawing in front of Bob's face. It seemed normal for an eleven-year-old to do, but she was smirking...

"Um...thanks?" Bob said. "Is that...what I think it-"

I tried to read what she wrote. "Bob's portrait."

"Huh?" Gee asked.

"_What_?" Bob asked, sounding offended.

He flipped the piece of paper over and read what I just read, while I looked at what she drew. I laughed at her crude humor.

"I think she's calling you a butthead," I said.

Ray and Mikey laughed, while Bob's expression became annoyed.

"Yeah, well you're eleven, and that's not _nearly_ as funny as you think it is," he said defensively.

"_Milly_!" Gee exclaimed, though I could tell he wanted to be amused. "That's not nice! _Apologize_...somehow."

She took the piece of paper back and jotted down something, then gave it back to Bob with a pouty-face.

"Aw," he said. "I forgive you. If I can have a hug."

She shook her head and darted away, probably to hide in her room.

"She's gonna have a _good_ sense of humor," I said happily. "Once she starts talking."

* * *

**Gee POV**

Once everyone had finally focused, we actually accomplished a lot. Frank and Ray came up with some killer guitar riffs, for a couple songs and Mikey fit in the bass around those riffs. A few lyrics came to mind, but not many.

Frankie seemed insistent that the rest of the guys not know about Jamia, which didn't seem like him. Not that he was narcissistic like that...he was just usually a little more open with the guys than he seemed today. Of course, if I were in his position, I would probably do the same thing mainly out of hope that my wife would change her mind.

We must have been working on everything for a long time, because eventually Milly came back out while the guys were still in the midst of creative spark. She came up to me with a piece of paper and a timid look on her face.

Well...more timid than _usual_.

_I have it,_

It? What it?

"Huh?"

She found a pencil and jotted down another note.

_You know...IT,_

"Sweetie, what do mean?" I asked.

She got an embarrassed expression on her face and looked around at the guys, then let out a whine and jotted down another note.

_My period's starting,_

"Oh!" I exclaimed. "Um...oh. Well...I...dunno...where the stuff is."

"What's wrong?" Ray asked.

"Uh...nothing," I said. "Nothing...technically."

_Is your wife here?_ Milly wrote.

"Honey, I told you that you can call her by her name," I said.

_I know,_

"So...what, do need to go...buy stuff?" I asked.

She nodded.

"Okay, sorry guys," I said. "We'll do this again tomorrow."

The guys looked confused, but they didn't press anything. I love my band.

* * *

**M** **POV**

As if it isn't enough to tell _one_ guy about my girl problems, I had to tell one guy in front of _four_ _others_. Thank God I can't talk...otherwise I'd _really_ be screwed.

And those are the times where I miss my family most. Or, what little family I had left. Of course, just when the _word_ "family" pops into my head, I start crying. So right in the middle of the car ride with Gee, I burst into tears.

"Mill...what's up, girly?"

I actually kinda like how he says "what's up" instead of "what's wrong," since he _knows_ what's wrong. He _doesn_'_t_ know what made me cry.

Not having any paper to tell him, I just shook my head.

"You just miss your mom?" he asked.

I nodded, since that was the closest I could come to saying "sorta."

"I'm sorry," he murmured gently. "I know that probably means nothing, especially since I'm just this random foster parent that you probably _really_ want to get away from because the fact that I adopted you is somehow really offensive- _wow_. I didn't think of that. I'm _really_ sorry now."

His thought process _really_ amazed me sometimes. I couldn't even _think_ of what he said he said it so fast. But I guess that's good, because I spent so much effort trying to figure out what he said that I stopped crying.

"But I guess that does mean something," he said. "Maybe I just confused you. Some people say I do that. I'm sorry, am I talking too much? I do that, too. I just kinda speak my mind and my mind's always running and running, so I tend to talk non-stop. I'm sorry."

I actually found myself half amused.

"You're smiling," he noted happily. "Wow...you have no idea how great it is to see that."

I looked back at the road as we pulled into the grocery store parking lot, and felt my mood drop again. I didn't want to smile...I didn't deserve that.

* * *

**A/N: WOW, that's embarrassing. Sorry guys, I guess the little note to myself that I FORGOT TO FREAKING DELETE, kinda spoiled something for you. don't worry. I took it out. Shit, I screwed up.**


	14. Chapter 13

**A/N: Told ya so. XD**

Chapter 13

**Milly** **POV**

"I understand you don't talk," the therapist said bluntly. "So our first goal...is to figure out why."

Why was _that_ the first thing?

"So...I have paper and a pen _and_ a pencil, if you prefer, for you so you can say what you need to say,"

John Mayer's song automatically popped into my head. I hated that song.

"So...where do you want to start?" she asked, handing me the writing materials.

I didn't touch them, but shrugged.

"Okay...how about _I_ start," she suggested.

There was a moment's pause before she continued. "It's probably _very_ painful for you to talk about your family, as it should be for any human with a soul."

Well _dang_, what if it _wasn't _painful for me to talk about my family? She would've just called me soulless. But...lucky for her...she was right.

"But...let me ask you this," she continued. "Whenever you got mad at your mom...or your dad...what did you do?"

I shrugged, even though I _knew_ what I did.

She nodded, and I saw a spark of irritation in her eyes. "Okay...when you wanted to support them...what did you do?"

I shrugged again, still stubborn.

"You don't _want_ to talk about anything do you?"

I shook my head, glad she had finally caught up.

"Well...that's fine," she said, surprising me. "I won't make you talk if you don't want to. I'm not Severus Snape, I don't have a Truth Potion."

Hm...okay, maybe we _would_ get along. If I wanted therapy.

"This isn't about what your guardian wants...it's about what you want," she said. "And apparently you want to sit here in silence. So let there be silence."

I tried to give her a smile of gratitude.

* * *

**Gee** **POV**

"So...how'd it go?" I asked Milly once we got in the car.

She shrugged, as I anticipated. Something told me she didn't talk.

That didn't bother me so much as the surprise Lyn-z had for us when we got back. Jimmy. In the kitchen. Drinking a root beer.

Okay, I understand the woman wanted Milly to accept Jimmy...but the girl is traumatized. She needed to give her time.

I heard Milly give a small "hmph" noise...just before she threw a salt shaker at him.

"_What_ _the-_"

"_Pancakes_!" I interrupted Jimmy.

"Milly!" Lyn screamed.

"Okay, you know what, kid?" Jimmy yelled. "Whatever your problem is, get the f-"

"Fisher's net!" I screamed, covering Milly's ears. "Young ears!"

"-over it!" Jimmy finished.

Milly continued glaring at him while Lyn pulled us both into our bedroom.

"Okay, Milly," Lyn addressed her. "I get you have some vendetta against him for some reason, but you're gonna have to get over it. Okay?"

Milly only glared at her and shook her head.

"No," Lyn grabbed her arm, making her whimper. "You're gonna either _grit_ _your_ _teeth_ while he's here, or _learn_ _to_ _like_ _him_, but either way you _cannot_ _throw_ _things_ _at_ _him_!"

Milly's breathing escalated and she started sobbing.

"Lyn, _let_ _her_ _go_!" I growled, ripping her arm away from Milly.

"You know what, Gerard?" she hissed. "This is also _your_ fault. You're encouraging her!"

"How so? By not traumatizing her further?"

"By practically rewarding her when she's violent!"

"Okay, you know what, _Lyn_?" I snapped. "Maybe I should be stricter, but that doesn't mean grabbing her like that does anything but terrify her!"

"Yeah, okay...okay, I'm just a wicked little bitch who's out to scare her," she said mockingly. "Okay, when did I become the _enemy_?"

"I'm not saying you're the enemy!"

"Not in those exact words, no-"

"Okay, _screw_ this, I'm taking Milly outside until you two are done," I said.

"Fine!"

* * *

**Lyn-z POV**

I closed the blinds and turned away, so that I didn't have to see them. I felt frustrated beyond belief...how could he encourage her?

Stopping me in my tracks was the man who started all of this.

"Jimmy, what are you-" I began.

"Aw, come on, Lyn-z," he groaned. "_You_, at least, have to not hate me."

"I...do," I replied, unsure of what exactly he just said. "Just...not in my room."

He smirked evilly. "Why? You afraid I might do something?"

I barely had time to glare, before he pressed his lips against mine, as if I didn't get the point before.

I shoved him away, instantly furious he would do that. "_Don't_."

"You didn't seem to mind it last time," he complained.

"Last time I was _drunk_," I reminded him. "And so were you."

"So you mean-"

"What exactly are you trying to do to Gee?" I asked, reminding him of my_ husband_. "Do you forget that I'm _married_? Just because you had a _little_ crush-"

And he did it again. _ Idiot!_ What part of married...

He brought his hand up to my face, cupping my chin, and continuing to kiss me, but I didn't stop him.

_Gee,_ I reminded myself.

I brought my hand up to his chest to shove him away, but it just rested there.

_Stop! What are you doing?_ I tried to remind myself of Gee, that I loved _him._ Why couldn't I stop myself?

I heard the sound of pants being unzipped...Was it me doing that? Or was it him?

Our shirts disappeared and I still didn't stop him.

Only when we heard the door open, did we break apart.

My blood ran cold as I looked up at the door to see Gerard and Milly standing there in shock.

My eyes painfully focused on Gerard's face, watching the mixture of emotions flash across his face...Shock, pain, disbelief, horror, and sadness.

"Milly," he gasped. "Go to your room."

Milly didn't argue, leaving the room without a sound. Not that she _ever_ made a sound.

"Lyn..." he stopped and closed his mouth, seeming unable to find the words.

He opened his mouth again and then closed it.

I was about to try to explain myself, as impossible as it might seem, when he turned around and ran out the door.

You cannot imagine how much I hated myself.


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

**Gee POV**

Maybe it was for the best. I mean...we _had_ been fighting a lot lately. I still couldn't believe _that_ was how it would end, though.

I couldn't let myself think...But how could she _do_ that? I gave her a second chance...I was convinced she was drunk before, but..._was_ she? Maybe that was why she couldn't stand Milly hating him. No...I couldn't think about it, I just had to go...Had to get away from her, away from him, and away from the place where it happened.

Where?

Frank. Frankie, I need Frankie. He could understand.

Trying my hardest not to think about anything else, I concentrated solely on getting to Frank's house...not really knowing what to do after that.

I didn't bother waiting after ringing the doorbell, I just ran in.

"Frankie, I'm home!"

"Gerard?" I heard him from kitchen, a confused tone in his voice.

I walked in the kitchen, and grabbed one of the un-opened beer bottles out of the fridge.

Frank raised an eyebrow and smirked, continuing to dry off his hands.

I sat down at the kitchen table and took a swig of beer.

Frankie must have sensed something, because his smirk fell and he sat down next to me, taking the beer from my hand and setting it on the table. That's when I noticed my hands were shaking.

"Something wrong with Milly?" he asked.

I shut my eyes and shook my head, trying to get the images out of my mind.

"Milly," I gasped, opening my eyes. "She's still there."

She was still in her room...was Lyn bothering her, or did she get kicked out of the house? Was she wondering where I went? I knew she could take care of herself, even against Lyn, but that didn't stop me from worrying. Almost like a real parent.

"At...your house?"

I nodded, afraid to talk about what happened.

Frank seemed to understand that and pushed the beer towards me again, getting up to finish whatever he was doing before.

I was towards the last of the beer when I heard my phone ring. I hadn't even known I'd brought it with me.

I took it out of my pocket and immediately placed it on the table face-down when I saw who it was.

Frank came over and picked it up off the table to look at the screen, a mixture of emotions flashing across his face, ending with understanding.

How could he understand? Had she done it before to his knowledge? And...he didn't tell me? That bastard!

"Was it _about_ Milly then?" he asked.

I...guess he _didn't _understand then.

"Huh?"

"There wasn't a fight?"

I looked down at the table, holding my breathe. "No. There was Jimmy."

Looking back up at him, I saw his eyes narrow in anger. _Now_ he understood.

And then he did something unexpected...and stupid.

"Hello?" he asked my wife in a venomous tone.

The phone was loud enough for me to hear distinct muttering that sounded like she was asking for me.

"No, he's not here."

More muttering.

"_Yes_, I have his phone, otherwise I wouldn't be talking to you...I don't know, maybe he left it here the _last_ time he needed to get away from a-"

I snatched the phone away before he could continue to embarrass me even more, and closed it.

"Hey," he complained. "I had a good one!"

"Not...right now," I said in a low voice.

He raised an eyebrow. "So...wait till tomorrow?"

"No..." I started, still unsure of what I was getting at. "I mean...I don't know...Just..."

"Gee," he stated firmly. "She just-"

"I know what she did, Frank," I growled, trying in vain not to think about it.

"So you don't wanna-"

"No!" I half yelled, half cried.

Sinking back into the chair, I tried to steel myself to keep from crying.

"I'm sorry, Frank," I said.

"No, Gee," he said, voice soft now. "Don't be."

He went over to the fridge and came back with two more beers in hand, giving me one.

"Drink," he ordered. "Relax. Stay here tonight."

"But, Milly..." I hesitated, wondering whether she would need me there, or if she would be alright without me for the night.

"I'm sure Mill can hold her own," Frank said with a smirk, probably thinking about the first time she met Jimmy. "But if you're worried, she could probably stay here, too."

I thought about that for a moment. "Nah. You're probably right."

"You mean that _surprises_ you?" he asked in mock amazement.

* * *

When I went home the next day, I was only half shocked to find Lyn-z wasn't there. Had she taken off with Jimmy?

I couldn't think about that.

"Milly?" I called, hoping she was still here, instead of with Lyn. She wouldn't _really_ leave me for Lyn, would she? Of course, I doubted Lyn would even _take_ her.

A flood of unanticipated relief came through me when I heard her door open and the soft noise of her walking out.

She stood in the hallway while I sat down on the couch, not really knowing what to say to her.

"So," I started, looking at the seat next to me. "Did she leave with Jimmy?"

Looking in her eyes, I saw an unexpected emotion, though I didn't know why. Pain.

She nodded and walked over to my side, standing closer than she normally would.

Suddenly she touched my cheek, making me jerk slightly at the feel of her cold fingers.

I fingered the place where she touched and realized I was crying.

Then, as abruptly as she wiped away my tears, she hugged me.

For the first time.

* * *

**Milly** **POV**

It made me sad that Gerard felt so upset, but it felt good to comfort him. I guess it was the fact that someone other than me needed help.

Maybe that's how Gerard feels sometimes. Maybe that's why he wanted to save lives. For the feeling that someone other than him needed it.

Great, now I sound like my therapist.


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

**Gee** **POV**

Screaming again. At 3 am. Every. Damned. Morning.

With Lyn-z gone, it was up to me every night to calm her down. Luckily, Milly didn't shy away from human contact anymore, so it was a lot easier to help her back to sleep.

It made me tired and served as a painful reminder that we were all alone in that house. Yet, Milly being the one suffering Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, it felt inappropriate for me to be sulky about that.

So I went to Frank more and more often.

Milly didn't seem to mind. She liked Frank and seemed perfectly content with going outside and climbing trees when she sensed we wanted to talk about something without her around.

Which was...everytime we went to Frank's.

Although Milly seemed to like Lyn perfectly fine, she seemed a lot happier after she left. It was probably the fact that Jimmy was, not only gone, but hated by everyone she liked.

Though _her_ being less stressed and under control made _me_ less stressed, her waking up in the middle of the night took a huge toll out of me and, by extension, affected the band adversely.

For example: I'd fall asleep during meetings, frustrating everyone around me. At least I have Bob to remind me to show up. Because, frankly, I _would _forget otherwise.

Another example: During practice, I nearly traded my mic for Ray's guitar.

"Gee?" Mikey woke me up one meeting. "You okay?"

"Huhyeah," I slurred, waking up.

"When's the last time you got a full night's sleep?" Mikey asked.

"About the last time I saw my wife...ex...almost...I think,"

"Milly never sleeps through the night?" Bob asked.

"Rarely," I replied, leaning my head on Mikey's shoulder. "But she dances! That's good...I think. And entertaining. I like dancing."

"And she paints hoola-hoops," Mikey said.

"Yeah, she's really weird," I said.

"And she plays Leap-Frog-Spyro-Flip with her stuffed animals," Frankie said.

"What's that?" Bob asked.

"It's...where you leap over a stuffed animal...and...and then you twirl the stuffed animal over your head...'cause it can't leap on it's own," I explained.

"She must be _really_ bored," Ray laughed.

"No...she's just weird...just _really_ weird," I said, feeling a smile tug at my face.

"So what school's she gonna go to?" Bob asked.

"Fuck, I haven't thought about that," I said.

"Well...you got another month or so," Bob said. "Plus the whole Post-Traumatic-Blady-Blah thing'll probably give you a little more time."

"Maybe I could homeschool her," I said.

"Is that _legal_ anymore?" Frankie asked.

"I dunno," I said. "But we aren't working..."

"Gee, I'm not sure you're in any mental shape to work," Frankie said, actually looking a little worried.

How weird is that...

"Don't be silly, sweetie, I can handle it,"

"Did you really just call me sweetie?"

Fuck, I did.

"He's tired," Mikey said.

"Yeah...hey, I have an idea!" Frankie said. "I dunno if Milly would like it, though."

"What?" I asked, a little suspicious.

"I dunno 'bout the rest of the guys, but I'd be willing to take care of Milly for a few days," he said.

"Um..." I said, not really sure I wanted someone else to take care of her. "I dunno about that."

"I know she's tiring, but that's why you're so...useless, no offense,"

"Offense taken!"

"I'd be willing to, too," Mikey said.

"That's sweet of you guys, but I'm the one who got myself into this,"

"Gee, you don't get it, we're counting on you," Mikey said.

"Yeah, man," Ray said. "We can write lyrics, but then to have you sing them would just be fake."

"And it's not like they would be as awesome as your lyrics," Bob said. "I mean, _who_ _else_ could have come up with Teenagers?"

Frank laughed. "_Really_!"

"You guys are fucking awesome," I told them.

"Does that mean you'll let us take on the mig?" Mikey said.

I laughed. "Yeah, that's what that means."

"You won't regret it!" Frankie said.

"That's what you said about the party!" I said.

"Yeah, but this time you _really_ won't regret it!" Mikey said.

"We won't curse around her or anything!" Frankie said in a baby voice.

"Too late for that," I laughed.

Frank said he'd take her first, since it was his idea. It was only until we finished the record...or the due date for the record, which was about a week away. But I still felt bad that they were taking on my responsibility. But Frank said he wanted to do it either way...just because she's Milly.

Surprisingly, Milly didn't mind that she was being passed around from house to house like a shared trophy. She probably thought it was because I needed to take care of something with Lyn. Which only made me feel worse, because it made it that more obvious that I couldn't handle _any_ responsibilities.

"Okay," I said to Frankie when I was dropping Milly off. "So, make sure you keep random objects around that you don't care about, because she likes to have a variety of stuff to ruin, so-"

Frankie interrupted me with a loud cackle.

"Sorry," he said. "It was just funny how you said that. A _variety_?"

"Yeah, oh, and she's not a really picky eater, but she won't eat much. Like, if you don't _make_ her eat, she probably won't. And she doesn't like the TV or music really loud, unless it's Hairspray- Oh, and her music choice might get on your nerves, you know, because it's mainly stuff like old Brittany Spears and Hanson, I probably told you what she listens to-"

"Gerard!" he chuckled. "Chillax...I got this."

"I know...I just...I'm a little nervous, I haven't let someone else take care of her other than Lyn-z since she came to live with us,"

"Gee...you can trust me," Frank said bluntly.

"I know I can," I said.

"So...say goodbye...and go to work," Frankie told me.

"Okay," I whined, turning to Milly. "Milly...I know you know what I'm going to say, because you know you have to do it...but I'm gonna say it anyway. Don't shave his dogs, okay?"

Frank giggled.

"Now be good for Frank...it's not gonna be much different than living with me,"

"Except I don't talk as much," Frank added.

"Shut up,"

"And that's why,"

"Anyway!" I continued. "Mikey'll come get you Thursday, and you'll stay with him until I come get you Sunday. Okay?"

She rolled her eyes and sighed as if to say, "Duh...I already _knew_ _that_."

I kissed her forehead. "All right...bye sweetie."

"Where's mine?" Frankie joked.

I sighed and kissed his cheek roughly. "Bye _sweetie_."

He giggled and gave a limp-wristed gesture. "Bye-bye, _honey_."


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

**Gee** **POV**

_Okay...come on...you can do this...you need to, _I thought. _Mikey, Frank, Ray, and Bob are counting on you. Probably Milly, too. That's a fuck load of people. Just write some lyrics. Otherwise everything Frankie and Mikey are doing for you will be for nothing. Now won't that make you feel shitty? Why do you wanna feel shitty? Because you're making me feel shitty._

And instead of making progress, I end up answering my own thoughts. Great.

Lyn-z came to mind, and I immediately felt pain. I tried to channel that pain into lyrics, but there was too much. I've never had _too_ _much_ pain to write before. I tried to think of something else.

Milly. But how could I put my sudden paternal feelings into lyrics? Especially lyrics that sound sincere and My Chemical Romance-like.

Maybe I was thinking too much. I had to stop thinking so much. Sammich. That's what I needed. Then I'd think random words until I came up with something.

* * *

**Frank** **POV**

I tried not to feel a little giddy after Gerard left, but I couldn't help it. I also couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed for joking around like that, even though we do it all the time.

Milly got a complicated expression on her face, and I realized I didn't know how she felt about gay jokes. Or gays, for that matter. Or if she knew gays existed. I mean, she was 11...and from Oklahoma.

Either way, I got an awkward feeling around Milly as soon as we were alone in the house. Almost immediately, Sweet Pea ran up to her and licked her pants leg. She gave a small "hmm" that sounded relatively content.

"Did you ever have any dogs?" I asked, mainly to break the silence.

First of all, I didn't think about the fact that if I wanted the silence to stay broken, I would have to speak almost as much as Gerard. Secondly, I didn't think about the question itself, and her reaction.

Her eyes got wide, like I'd seen that Saturday night when the doorbell rang. She started breathing rapidly, like she was trying not to cry.

Fuck.

"Milly?" I asked. "I'm sorry, Milly! I didn't mean it!"

The _one_ thing Gerard could have told me that would have helped...he didn't.

She dropped her bag and leaned against the wall.

I gently touched her arm, and she jerked her gaze up at me. Double fuck.

"Mill, it's okay, just...don't think about it," I said. "Hey! You wanna listen to Hanson?"

Her eyes brightened immediately and her breathing slowed down some. She nodded.

"Okay," I sighed, relieved.

* * *

**Gee** **POV**

Still nothing. For the first time in my life, I have nothing to think or say.

Then, in the midst of my writer's block, I got a phone call. Frankie...God Almighty.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Um...okay, I get- I get your hesitation now...um...can you come over? Milly's...um...freaking out...and I dunno what to do- I mean, the first time I fixed it, but now I dunno what's going on in her mind,"

"You fucking told me I wouldn't regret this! What'd you say to her?" I asked, already searching frantically for my keys.

"I just asked if she liked Batman!"

"Well...maybe the crazy bastard mentioned bats...or maybe her mom had a fear of bats, I dunno, I've never mentioned Batman! I'll be right over,"

I drove ten miles over the speed limit to get to Milly as quickly as possible. I knew this was a bad idea.

I didn't ring the doorbell, because I knew Milly would only freak out more. I didn't predict that going in uninvited would be even _worse_.

I've never seen her so upset before. Even at three in the morning, she was never like this. She hid under the table, sobbing and screaming bloody murder with a knife in one hand and a rubberband in the other.

I glared at Frankie. "_A_ _knife_?"

"She's terrified, what do you expect?" he snapped over her screaming. "She really doesn't like Batman!"

"No shit, Sherlock!"

"What do we do?"

"Milly," I said, trying to get close to her.

She swung the knife at me.

"Whoa!" I backed up into the wall.

She'd given me a small slice in my right hand, but otherwise didn't hurt me.

"Find an acoustic guitar," I said, getting an idea.

She stopped screaming, but continued sobbing.

Frankie slid onto the floor beside me with one of his acoustic guitars.

"Welcome to the black parade," I said.

He started strumming and I looked at Milly...who honestly looked more terrified now that we'd gotten the guitar out.

_When I was a young boy_

_my father took me into the city_

_to see a marching band._

_He said, "Son, when you grow up_

_would you be the savior of the broken,_

_the beaten, and the damned?"_

_He said, "Will you defeat them,_

_your demons and all the non-believers,_

_the plans that they have made?_

_Because one day I'll leave you,_

_a phantom, to lead you in the summer_

_to join the Black Parade."_

She looked half fascinated, half worried. I looked over at Frankie, and he smiled at me during the pause. Then he started strumming again.

_Sometimes I get the feeling_

_she's watching over me_

_and other times I feel like I should go._

_And through it all, the rise and fall,_

_the bodies in the streets._

_And when you're gone we want you all to know..._

_We'll carry on, we'll carry on._

_And though you're dead and gone, believe me,_

_your memory will carry on, we'll carry on._

_And in my heart, I can't contain it._

_The anthem won't explain it_

A few more tears leaked out of Milly's eyes and she let out a shuddered breath, but then finally put her weapons down. She shook her head and wiped away her tears as best she could.

_And while that sends you reeling_

_from decimated dreams,_

_your misery and hate will kill us all._

_So paint it black and take it back._

_Let's shout out loud and clear,_

_do you fight it to the end?_

_We hear the call to carry on, we'll carry on._

_And though you're dead and gone, believe me,_

_your memory will carry on, we'll carry on._

_And though you're broken and defeated,_

_your weary widow marches._

_On and on we carry through the fears, oh oh oh,_

_disappointed faces of your peers, oh oh oh._

_Take a look at me,_

'_cause I could not care at all._

I dared trying to get near her again. She didn't hurt me, so I sat beside her and wrapped her in a hug, putting my cheek on top of her head, while Frankie continued playing.

_Do or die, you'll never make me._

_Because the world will never take my heart._

_Though you try, you'll never break me._

_We want it all, we wanna play this part._

_Won't explain or say I'm sorry_

_I'm unashamed, I'm gonna show my scar_

I gently stroked her scar that ran from the right corner of her mouth to halfway up her cheek, and she clutched my shirt tightly.

_Give a cheer for all the broken_

_Listen here, because it's only_

_I'm just a man, I'm not a hero._

_Just a boy who wanna sing his song._

_Just a man, I'm not a hero._

_I! Don't! Care!_

_We'll carry on, we'll carry on._

_And though you're dead and gone, believe me,_

_your memory will carry on, you'll carry on._

_And though you're broken and defeated,_

_your weary widow marches on._

_Do or die, you'll never make me._

_Because the world will never take my heart._

_Though you try, you'll never break me._

_We want it all, we wanna play this part_

Milly's tears seemed to have finally stopped and she relaxed.

_Do or die, you'll never make me._

_Because the world will never take my heart._

_Though you try, you'll never break me._

_We want it all, we wanna play this part._

_We'll carry on_

She stayed still after I had sung the last lyric, then she wrapped her arms around my waist. Frankie stopped strumming and sighed. We stayed like that for a while...and then I got an idea. I looked at Frankie.

"What?" he asked.

"I got an idea," I said.

"For what?"

"A song...or two...or three...I gotta go," I said, kissing Milly on the forehead. "Milly, think happy thoughts. I'll see you in a bit, okay?"

She nodded.

I took off toward the door, then yelled over my shoulder to Frankie. "Still trust you!"

"You're an idiot!" he yelled back.


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

"I have absolutely no idea what any of this means," Mikey said. "It's perfect."

He handed me back my small stack of papers. I was over at his house letting him edit my work. My brother was really the only one I could trust to be harsh.

"You think we can fit any of those riffs around any of this?" I asked.

"Totally," he said. "Or we could fit that around the riffs, either way it'll be awesome."

"I told you we could do it!" I said.

"We haven't done it yet," he said. "You only have...like...four songs there. Seven, including what we've already done."

"Yeah...I know,"

He looked at me weird. "Are those about Milly?"

"Three of them are," I said. "I don't really know what the other one's about."

"Lyn-z?" he asked.

"Um...no, I don't think so," I said, though I probably wouldn't have admitted it if it was.

"Hmm...you gotta love those kinda songs, though,"

"What, the mysterious ones?" I asked, my mind now set on Lyn.

_Damn_ it, why did he have to mention her?

"Yeah,"

"Not really," I said, trying hard to distract myself from crying. "They drive me crazy."

"You're already crazy as hell," he teased.

"Shut _up_! At least I don't freak the fuck out over Batman,"

"Is that what happened to your hand?"

"Yep,"

"And what inspired this?"

"Yep,"

"Sweet...I think _one_ _more_ breakdown will do the trick,"

"You are going to _hell_!" I laughed.

"And I'm taking you with me!"

Suddenly we heard the doorbell ring. For a second I felt a little nervous that Milly would start shrieking, but I remembered...Milly wasn't here. That thought brought a little sadness, but also a little relief.

* * *

**Frank** **POV**

It was a lot easier to take care of Milly after Gerard left. I still couldn't believe he let her continue to stay with me after that incident. He seemed to have developed protective feelings over her. Of course, after spending only a day with her, I could see that wasn't hard to do. That child seemed kinda pitiful. In the cute, yet depressing and awkward way.

I brought Milly the next day when the band met to go over stuff. Luckily, we were the last ones there. I didn't want to see her go into another doorbell fit. Or throw anything else at the person coming through the door.

"Milly!" Bob greeted her. "Can I have a hug _now_?"

Milly seemed to think about it for a moment, then nodded and went over to give him a hug.

Gee giggled, then looked over at me and smiled. I smiled back, probably unnaturally wide. I tried not to blush, but being as pale as I am it's nearly impossible to hide even the _tiniest_ bit of blood rushing to my face.

Milly sat down for a few moments next to Gee, then got bored and went out into the front yard.

"_A.D.D._," Ray sung.

Gee laughed. "You have _no_ idea."

I took Milly's place next to Gee in a sad attempt at discretion. Gee smiled at me again, making me feel translucent.

"Least she's doing something _partially_ normal," I said.

"You never know," Mikey said. "She's _really_ creative sometimes."

"Which isn't always a good thing," Ray said.

Then we heard Gerard's Smashing Pumpkin's ringtone. He answered it, confirmed his identity, then immediately got a worried expression on his face. I stared at him, waiting to hear something that would point toward the purpose of the conversation.

"Would she have to see _him_?" Gee asked.

I looked around and the rest of the guys had the exact same expression on their faces: concern.

"I really don't think that's a good idea," he continued.

The person on the other end said something that I couldn't understand.

"I _know_ she's a prime witness, that's the fucking problem!" he yelled.

I finally figured out what it was about; the murderer's trial. Then I heard more muttering on the other end.

"Okay, I know, but she can't even _talk_...how do you expect her to handle- Of course she's seeing a therapist!"

I felt a little irritated at the mystery person on the other end. From the sound of it, he didn't care about Milly herself, he just wanted her testimony.

"You can't. Force her. To talk," Gee spat.

There was a little more muttering, then a pause before Gee hung up the phone with an angry expression on his face.

"Bastard," he muttered.

"Does he really expect Milly to talk?" Bob asked.

"It would seem so," Gee said. "But he won't. I'll make sure of that."

"She'd have to see the insane mass murderer guy," Ray said. "Are they _serious_?"

"Yep," Gee said angrily. "But so am I."

"_Good_ foster parent," I said cheerfully.

Gerard smiled at me, _yet_ _again_, and chuckled. Did he smile just to tease me? Because he had to see through my straight pretense.


	19. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

**Gee** **POV**

I couldn't believe legal people. They've always been described as soulless, but I thought they at least had _some_ heart until now. They expected Milly, an _eleven-year-old girl_, to get near the man who _killed_ _her_ _family_. To testify when she can't even _speak_. Yeah, sure, they said they'd accommodate her...but if they _really_ wanted to do that, they wouldn't ask her to testify at all.

Of course, legally, they couldn't actually make her testify. But they would ask her. Either they would, or I would, neither of which I liked. Once I picked her up from Mikey's the next day I would at least warn her...even if it made her have another breakdown. Which she would.

The idea of her having yet _another_ breakdown because of the legal system made me furious. She already had enough trouble with the fact that it happen, she didn't need more trouble to _prove_ that it happened. But then maybe she wanted to prove that it happened. Maybe she wanted justice.

Of course, she was only eleven. She probably just wanted to get on with her life and have some peace.

"Gerard?" Frank asked, reminding me he was still there. "You okay?"

"Fine," I lied.

"You don't seem fine," he argued.

"That's...'cause I'm not," I caved.

"You thinking about Lyn-z?"

God, I wasn't before. Why did everyone have to bring her up? I didn't want to think about her, why couldn't they realize that? Of course, she probably left because I'd been so stupid lately. I mean, bringing Milly home without talking to her first was probably the shot to the head of our marriage. Jimmy was just the blood leaking out.

"Hmm," I whined. "I bet she and Jamia made a divorce pact."

Frankie laughed. "Like a suicide pact."

"Only the opposite," I laughed.

He giggled again. It was kind of nice to hear him giggle after Jamia. And I had to admit, it felt a little hard not to laugh being around Frankie. He always seemed to do that for me when I needed it most.

* * *

**Frank** **POV**

"You wanna go teepee Jimmy's house?" I suggested.

"No," Gee sighed.

"Egg his car?"

"No,"

"Do _something_ at least?" I pressed, sick of seeing him depressed over her.

"I dunno..." he resisted.

But, determined to make him forget the pain she'd caused him, I started dragging him out the door anyway.

"Come on," I said, leading him to my car.

"At least tell me where we're going," he said.

"You'll see," I said, turning on the music.

Truthfully, _I_ didn't know where we were going, but after about 5 minutes I decided to take him where any irresponsible friend would take him...a club.

He was a little slow that night...didn't realize it was a club _before_ we got inside it?

"Uh...Frank...why did you take me here?" he asked, a confused look on his face.

His confused look is so adorable...

"It's where the fun is, man," I answered, turning around to pretend to look for something.

"Right," he said doubtfully.

I turned around to push it further, but he wasn't there.

_Silly_ little boy!

Looking around, I spotted him walking towards...the...exit?...What the hell?

I was about to go after him, when I noticed someone had beat me to it. Billie Joe _freaking_ Armstrong. What was he doing there?

At least Gee was safe for now...I mean, Billie damn well knew how to keep a conversation going...for, like, an hour.

I went in the opposite direction, making a mental note to keep a close eye on him.

Immediately after making it to the bar, I was distracted by the flirtatious...and obviously drunk as shit...female getting about two inches from my face, so desperate to get laid.

She moved slowly though and, as time rolled by, became even more painfully annoying and flirtatious. I played along, though, checking on Gee every two minutes...or seconds...I wasn't really sure.

Damn, Billie really liked to talk. And Gee seemed to be enjoying himself, I noted happily.

I must have turned my head around to check on him at least 30 times before he had disappeared from view.

* * *

**Gee** **POV**

Finally setting myself loose from Billie, I looked around for Frankie, spotting him over by the bar. He was with...some girl. Well...not girl, per say, but female under the age of 25, that's for sure.

I got a little closer, trying to hear what was being said.

"Really?" Frankie laughed, appearing to look for something. "That's amazing."

"_You're _amazing, Frankie," the unbelievably cheesy girl said, _totally _sucking up.

Despite the seriously pained look on Frankie's face at her words, I was suddenly angry. I walked up behind them, getting _way_ too many ideas of how to kill this girl without CSI ever figuring it out.

The best I could do was pretending to be drunk in order to scare her off.

"Frankie!" I yelled, stumbling into a stool. "Sup, dude?"

Frankie's fake smile faltered, somehow making it painfully obvious he didn't want me there.

"Gerard!" he said in fake enthusiasm. "What the hell do you want?"

I gave the most drunken laugh I could manage. "I don't really know. Whoa!"

I only managed to make a few crude comments about his little hoe bag before Frankie's horrified expression was conceived...and about the same time the girl's appalled one came about. She walked away in her high heels as fast as humanly possible for a drunk girl, leaving me with Frankie's inescapable fury.

"What. The. Hell. Is. Wrong._ With you?_" he growled.

"Nothing," I laughed, though not very amused.

"Are you crazy?" he yelled. "Or just too drunk too function?"

"I'm not drunk," I said defensively.

"So you're just crazy?" he continued to yell.

"Least I'm not a gigolo!" I blurted out.

"A gigolo?" he laughed. "Because I have the_ guts _to talk to someone else-"

Seeing red, I ran towards the exit before he could finish, stopping no more than five feet away.

Frank was my ride home.

"Gee," Frank called, venom gone out of his voice.

Screw this, I could walk home.

"Wait!" he moaned, grabbing my arm before I had moved so much as a foot. "Okay, number one you can't walk home. It's freezing out there and your house is, like, 10 miles away-"

"You always have to point out something, don't you," I stated rawly.

Seeing his guilty look, I considered taking it back, but then he spoke.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled. "I get why you're angry. I shouldn't have said what I did, especially since-"

He froze, as if wondering whether or not it would be a smart thing to say.

I knew what he was about to say...but it wasn't right. Lyn-z wasn't my problem...I didn't know my problem.

"Why don't we just go?" he asked, laughing awkwardly.

I nodded, unable to speak for the swarm of thoughts taking control of my mind.

The ride home was...uncomfortable.

I tried to find possible answers to the abrupt anger I felt earlier. Maybe the girl was just so annoying - no, Gee...You're not_ that _stupid. Lyn wasn't on my mind until Frank mentioned what had happened, therefore it wasn't that. And I wasn't drunk.

We pulled into my driveway, jerking me back to reality...which was Frank and me sitting next to each other uneasily.

"See ya later," I said quickly, getting out of the car and running up to my front door.

Heart pounding, I fumbled with my keys, wondering if I was just high. But I had no drugs. _Damn_ I felt confused.

After unlocking the door, I looked back and noticed he was still sitting there, smirking, and my heart skipped a beat. Wait..._no_. It's lying.


	20. Chapter 19

**A/N: Well...I'm glad I can finally post a note without telling you how sorry I am for not updating. Sooo...this is gonna be a long fan fic. Thanks for all the great reviews!**

Chapter 19

**Milly** **POV**

Not that I didn't like Mikey. I liked him just fine. I just honestly started to feel scared to be away from Gerard for so long, even though I'd only lived with him for about a month. Maybe it was just the fact that I was going from house to house. I didn't even really know _why_ I was going from house to house...but I figured it had something to do with Gee working and the fact that Lyn-z wasn't there to help him anymore.

Either way, when Sunday came, I felt _thrilled_ to go home with Gerard.

* * *

**Gee** **POV**

I couldn't get the night before out of my mind. Even when I picked Milly up, I couldn't concentrate on what exactly was going on. She hugged me, but that was about all I digested.

"She was...um...good the _first_ day," Mikey said as she got in the car. "But then she kinda just stayed in her room most of the time. Like...Alicia and I had a really hard time getting her to come out to eat. I think she's ready to go home. Like, _now_."

"Oh!" I said, looking back at her.

She had eager eyes that darted between me and the steering wheel.

"Okay...um...thanks a lot, Mikey,"

"No prob, bro,"

"I mean, _really_, thank you," I said, hugging him.

"You're welcome," he laughed, returning the hug.

As soon as I got in the car, I handed Milly a pad and pen. She started scribbling away madly as I drove off.

_You know Frankie and your brother are nice and all...but do I have to do that again? Some of Frankie's dogs are really scary...and so is Mikey's wife. Not that she's mean...she just scares me._

"Heh...yeah, well...I thought you'd like hanging out with Frankie," I said distantly.

I looked over and she raised her eyebrow at me.

Needing to get my mind off of the night before, I took Milly shopping, though not entirely sure of what we could possibly need.

Milly saw past it though.

_What happened?_ she wrote, timidly following me into Hot Topic.

"What do you mean?" I answered, playing dumb.

_I dunno,_ she scribbled, looking at the chains. _You've been acting weird ever since you picked me up._

"Mill," I laughed uncharacteristically. "You gotta make your writing bigger than that, I can't read it. Hey, do you want a body piercing? Those are awesome."

She looked back at me with narrow, disapproving eyes, giving the answer for her.

_Don't change the subject,_ she wrote in bigger words. _Why are you acting so weird?_

I sighed, flipping through the CDs. "It's nothing, girly."

_I'm so sure,_ she replied with a doubtful look on her face.

"You sure you don't want a body piercing?"

Then it was Mill's turn to sigh. _I guess you were too drunk to remember now anyway._

"What about a tattoo?"

Giving me one last disgusted and utterly disbelieving look, she walked to the aisle behind me.

Smirking, I'd moved on to the clothes when I heard my phone ring.

Frankie.

Couldn't he leave me alone for _one_ day? Okay...granted, I started this, but...still.

Seeing the picture flashing on my phone, begging me to answer it, made my heart skip a beat. I meant to put it back in my pocket...but knowing I couldn't ignore him, I pressed talk and put it to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Gee?"

"No," I said sarcastically. "It's Dobby, I magically transported his phone into my pocket."

"Haha," he replied dryly. "Dobby doesn't have a pocket, he dresses in pillowcases."

"Not anymore," I argued. "Harry went all environmentalist and saved his dirty little ass."

"Not really," he persisted. "I mean, Dobby's dead because of Harry, so he really just destroyed his little ass."

"He still had pockets," I said.

"_Now_ he doesn't," Frankie said.

"I bet his skeleton does,"

"And I bet he can't use magic,"

"You _just_ came up with that point?" I asked.

"No, I _just_ put it into use," he said defensively.

"You could've prevented this whole argument if you put it into use_ first_,"

"It's not an argument,"

"Yes it is!" I laughed, turning around to look for Milly.

"It's a _debate,_"

"Whatever it is could've ended if you had noted that Dobby was dead in the...beginning..."

"Technically it was the end," he pointed out.

"Uh-huh," I agreed distractedly, continuing to look for Milly.

"You're not going to argue about that?" he asked in disbelief. "Because, technically, the ending wasn't Dobby dying, it was-"

"Oh, shit," I gasped, noticing that...Milly wasn't in the store.

And she wasn't waiting outside, either.

"What's wrong?" Frankie asked, sounding worried.

"I'm going to have to call you back," I squeaked.

I put the phone back in my pocket, running out of the store with my heart pounding in fear.

Where was she?

"Milly?" I called, hearing my own voice quiver.

No answer from her, only the annoyed stares of preppy teenagers who had no idea whom I was.

"Shit- _Milly_! I swear I'll tell you everything, just _come_ _back_!"

Where oh where in the mall would an eleven-year-old girl go? Where would an eleven-year-old _Milly_ go? Where sells a lot of blue?

* * *

**Milly** **POV**

I sat by an abandoned desk, trying not to cry. Mom always took me in Macy's. I didn't know why I came in; I told myself right when Gerard pulled in the parking lot that I would follow him and not think about where we were going. But I left him the moment I saw this place.

It didn't matter how much clothes I had, Mom always let me pick out at least one thing before we left here. That was a perk of being the only child.

My tears came despite my efforts. They poured down despite the people that walked by me.

"Milly?"

Gerard's frantic voice made me realize how stupid running out of Hot Topic had been.

"Milly!" he exclaimed once he saw me.

The next thing I knew he had me wrapped in a tight hug, which nearly made it impossible to breathe. It almost sounded like he was crying.

"Don't _ever_. _Do_ _that._ _Again_," he told me, voice quivering.

He released me and looked me in the eye. He _was_ crying.

"Okay? Don't do that, you nearly gave me heartattack. _Always_ tell me where you're going before you go somewhere,"

I nodded.

He kissed my forehead and took my hand. "Come on, let's go home."

Before we walked out of the store, I saw the last thing my mom bought me before the murder. A royal blue, Ruby Rox ruched empire dress.


	21. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

**Frank** **POV**

I had to try really hard to forget about the night before long enough to get through the meeting on Sunday. Not only would Gerard not look at me the entire time, Milly _would_ look at me the entire time. More like stare...stare was the right word. Granted, she had a damn good poker face on, so I couldn't really tell what kind of stare it was, but it was still a stare.

"So...guys...don't hit me," Mikey started us off. "Mr. Billie-Bob-What's-His-Face gave us another week."

"Why would we hit you?" Ray exclaimed excitedly. "That's f-"

He looked over Milly briefly.

"-awesome," he finished.

"But we're done," Gerard pouted.

"I know, he's a foul, undigested lump," Mikey said.

Bob burst out laughing. "Where did you hear that?"

"Nerd Fighters," Mikey said with a little bit of a pouty face.

"Mikey," I chuckled. "We told you. No. More. Science fiction."

"Shut up, it's not science fiction...it's Shakespearian insults,"

This time everyone except Milly and Mikey laughed.

"Anyway!" Mikey said, sounding slightly upset about the teasing. "Shut up, I'm the sexiest nerd you'll find."

"That's the spirit, Mikey," I said.

"Shut up," he said again.

"So anyway," Gerard finally said. "What, are we gonna go over everything we have again?"

"We don't have anything else to do," Ray said.

"We could play 'Pickle Pickle, Who's Got The Nickel?'," I said.

Everyone simultaneously looked at Milly. Milly burrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"Yeah, we're all looking at you," Gee teased her.

Then he started tickling her. "_Did you taint one of Frankie's pickles?_"

She giggled and squirmed to get away from him. He stopped after a moment and let her nod her head in response.

"You are an _odd_ child," he said.

She giggled again.

Then Bob started laughing. I looked at him, confused.

"'Frankie's pickles,'" he chuckled.

"Shut. Up," I said, though I was also trying not to laugh.

* * *

**Milly** **POV**

"So," the therapist started.

_Here_ _we_ _go_, I thought.

"How have you been?"

I shrugged.

"What did you do this past week?"

I shrugged again.

"You don't know?"

I shook my head.

"Well, what do you want to do today?"

I shrugged.

"Gerard said you like a lot of different activities,"

_Different_ isn't usually the adjective he uses. _Strange_ is more like it. I just nodded.

"Would you like to do something like that?"

I shrugged.

"Or maybe you could tell me your favorite activity," she suggested.

I could tell she felt frustrated with me not cooperating. I didn't even know _why_ I wouldn't cooperate, really. I guess I didn't want to talk about what she wanted me to talk about. Unless she wanted to talk about Gerard and Frankie having a pointless fight, then I'd be glad to tell her about it.

I just shook my head.

"You still don't want to tell me anything," she noted.

I gave her a weak smile, as if to say "You're catching on, Sherlock." I shook my head.

"You know...not talking...that's kinda hard to do," she started.

_Oh_ _boy_, I thought, trying not to roll my eyes.

"But...for you...I'm guessing it's even harder..._not_...to do, if that makes any sense," she said. "You've been through a lot, Milly. And I'm not just saying that to make you feel like there's at least a small reason why you're here. I'm saying it because it's true. You've been through a lot more than most of my other patients. And it's not easy to just _get_ _over_. You'll never really be the same again. And I don't know what it will take to make you feel able to talk...maybe therapy will help...maybe nothing but time will help. I know there are a lot of other things _only_ time will help. But I also know that there are at least _some_ things that therapy _can_ help. Okay? Gerard's not just overreacting here. This is a serious thing you have to deal with. But you _have_. _To_ _deal_ _with_ _it_. Because, trust me, I know...bottling things up won't do anything but hurt you."

_God_, I hate therapy.

* * *

**Gee** **POV**

As soon as we started home, I knew I'd forgotten something. But I couldn't remember until we actually got home, and saw a mysterious black car parked in our driveway. Why is it always a black car? People have _no_ creativity anymore.

But fuck that. In the confusion over the album and Frankie, I'd forgotten to warn Milly about testifying.

Milly grabbed my shirt sleeve, immediately getting a paranoid expression on her face.

"Hey, girly, it's okay," I said, parking the car a yard away from the mysterious vehicle. "This is one of the good guys...sorta."

She looked at me, still in a panic.

"He just...wants to ask you something," I said, resting my hand on the steering wheel. "I...forgot to tell you - you can hit me if you want, I deserve it - but I forgot to tell you..."

I stopped and put my head on my hands, finally digesting how shitty it would make her feel to be reminded of the man who tried to kill her. How could I tell her she'd have to see him again? Someone would. It was better she learned it from me than a complete stranger. But I still couldn't get the guts to tell her.

I looked up at her. "He wants to ask you about that day."

A horrified expression came on her face.

"Sweetie, you can say no if you want-"

Before I can finish, I felt a sudden sting on my cheek. She'd taken my offer of violence literally.

"Ow...okay..."

She shook her head and started crying. She started hugging her knees and rocking back and forth.

"Girly, I'm _sorry_," I murmured weakly. "I'll send him away if you want."

She nodded.

"Okay, stay in the car,"

I got out and went up to the driver's side of the other car. The window rolled down to reveal a stone faced woman. Okay...maybe I shouldn't have assumed gender.

"Okay, a bit of a warning would be nice," I spat. "You realize who you're here for? A _traumatized_ little girl."

"Who needs to give a testimony," she said coldly.

"_She will if she wants to_," I growled. "And, as it happens, she _doesn_'_t_ want to give a testimony, she _doesn't _want to talk to you, she _doesn't _want to _see _you. Now grow a heart and _get_ _away_ _from_ _here_."

"I need to speak to the child," she said.

"She had a panic attack just from seeing your car! She's not talking to you!"

She sighed and looked ahead. I waited a moment for her to respond again.

"How did you get home?" she asked suddenly.

I felt a little confused. "With...my...car."

"Where's your car?"

I darted my gaze back toward where I had left Milly. No car. No Milly.

"_FUCK_ _A_ _DUCK_!"

"I'll come back when you find her," the woman said, finally breaking out a smile.

Maybe I should have said "stay here," instead of "stay in the car."

* * *

**Frank** **POV**

I blew a puff of smoke in Peppers' face. She reacted like she always does, yipping faster than Mikey off his meds. And then I saw a familiar car swerve wildly in my neighborhood. It looked like Gerard's car, but Gerard _typically_ didn't drive drunk.

The glare of the sun made it impossible for me to tell who drove the car. Whoever it was, this driver must have either had Alzheimer's and forgot what the hell was going on, or sincerely couldn't decide where he or she wanted to go. The car nearly swerved into one of my neighbor's driveways, then immediately swerved out...then into my yard.

"Hey, dude!" I exclaimed. "What the f-"

Milly.


	22. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

"Gerard is going to piiiiissed at yooou," I whispered.

Peppers went crazy, running up to the car and yipping bloody murder. Some of my other dogs joined in, finally realizing something was going on.

I made my way down toward the car to see what was going on.

Milly stumbled out of the car and immediately gripped me in a hug, sobbing her heart out.

"_Whoa_, Mill," I said, hugging her back. "What's wrong, girl?"

She only shook her head and continued hugging me.

"Is Gerard okay?" I asked, really worried now.

She nodded, but wouldn't stop crying.

"Do I need to call him?"

She let go of me and shook her head wildly.

"_What_ _happened_?" I demanded to know. "You don't just steal someone's car when you can't even drive better than a stoner. What's wrong?"

She leaned against the car and sank to the ground, trying to calm herself.

"Okay," I sighed, sitting down next to her and wrapping her in another hug.

I let her go and took her hand to help her up. "Come on...let's go inside."

* * *

I led her inside and sat her down on the couch, then handed her a pencil and some paper. She immediately started writing something down, and I started texting Gerard while she wasn't looking.

_Gerard didn't tell me someone wanted to talk about that day, and now he's there waiting for _me _to talk and I don't want to, 'cause it's bad...it's really bad, _she wrote.

My phone buzzed, but I ignored it for a while.

"Milly...I'm sure Gerard _meant_ to tell you...trust me, he'd never want you to get a surprise like that,"

_But how can he just forget to tell me?_

"I dunno," I said. "But it was an accident, I can assure you."

_I don't wanna talk, why do they wanna make me talk?_

"Well...asking someone who went through it...it helps them make sure he's locked away forever,"

_Why can't they just lock him away forever? Police saw him, they stopped him, they KNOW,_

"Sweetie...you have to have proof...it's the law,"

Her breathing sped up and her hand started shaking while she wrote the next thing. I had a feeling this wouldn't go well. I quickly read what Gerard had sent me.

_Oh my God, do you know how much I LOVE YOU?_

Milly shoved her writing in my face.

_It's also the law that you don't hurt anyone! They KNOW he's the one that did it, I don't understand!_

"Milly, the police know, and you know," I said. "But the _court_ doesn't know. The jury that tells him whether he lives the rest of his life in prison or dies...they weren't there. They need to know what happened."

Oh crap. Maybe I shouldn't have said that.

She went berserk, sobbing just like she did when I mentioned Batman. She ran toward the kitchen and immediately climbed up on the counter near the medicine cabinet.

"_Whoa_!" I exclaimed, running after her. "_What are you doing_?"

She shook her head and opened the cabinet.

"No, no, no!" I said, closing the cabinet. "I dunno what you're doing, but you're not doing it."

She jerked around and pounded my chest, screaming.

I tried to grab her fists in order to stop it, but she was determined to beat me.

"Stop," I said.

She continued beating.

I finally grabbed her wrists. "Stop it!"

She looked at me, bearing her teeth and glaring.

"I _get_ you're mad, okay? But _I'm_ not the one you should be mad at! It's that greedy little bastard that you should be beating the hell out of! But right now, Milly, you need to _calm_ _the_ _fuck_ _down_!"

Maybe Jamia wasn't crazy...maybe _I_ was the crazy one.

She jerked her arms back and folded them, refusing to look at me. A couple of tears rolled down her cheek, making me feel slightly guilty.

I sighed. "Mill..."

She pushed me out of the way and hopped down from the counter, then made her way over to Sweet Pea to cuddle.

"Mill, I'm sorry," I said, following her.

She still wouldn't look at me.

"I'm sorry I cursed at you," I said pitifully.

She finally looked at me, then back at Sweet Pea, and nodded.

"You know Gee wouldn't make you do anything you didn't want to," I said. "And that includes talking about the pain and fear you're feeling. But I know...somewhere in you...you don't wanna just _talk_ about what you're feeling...you wanna _scream_ about what you're feeling. Maybe you think running from it is just as good, or maybe you feel like it'll just go away. But neither of those thoughts are gonna help you."

She swallowed hard and looked up at the ceiling.

"No, the law isn't fair sometimes," I continued. "And, no, it's not fair that the same man that took away your family, your life, everything you've _ever_ _known_...is forcing you to face that pain again for justice that should naturally exist. But you have to understand...you might be the only way it _can_ exist."

She nodded and rest her head on my shoulder.

"Now...you need to stop running away from Gerard," I said. "You're gonna make him lose what's left of his mind like this."

She nodded again.

"Okay...come on, I'll take you back,"

* * *

Gerard quickly hugged me, then bent down to glare Milly in the eye.

"_You_, Missy, are in big trouble,"

She smiled weakly.

"Running from Hot Topic is one thing...taking my car and driving to Frankie's when you can't even see over the steering wheel is another story _entirely_,"

Her smile became broader.

"She almost took down a few of my neighbors' mailboxes, too,"

"_Bad_. _Idea_," he said.

She stuck her tongue out at him.

* * *

**Gee** **POV**

After we went through the unnecessarily long motions to get my car back, Milly had a surprise for me.

A little piece of paper that said she'd tell the authorities about her family.


	23. Chapter 22

**A/N: Okay, so for some reason I feel like there's too much Milly...which is crazy, since she's what this fic is mainly about. But, anyway. This chapter might be a little mushy, but I'm just sorta emotional lately, so that might be why. So, let me know what you think, and PLEASE don't be afraid to be harsh. **

Chapter 22

**Gee** **POV**

We finally presented everything to our manager, and hit the studio. I still couldn't believe everything we'd come up with in only three weeks. It was _the_ _shit_. I mean, that stuff was the _feces from our bodies_. Well, maybe that's an unnecessarily disgusting way to put it.

I brought Milly along, just to show her what it looked like on the inside. She seemed to take interest in it...but the manager looked a little creeped out by her.

The hardest part about finally going into the recording part of the process: I still felt stuck between wanting to avoid Frankie as much as possible, and, strangely, wanting to stay by him the entire time. The idea that I would _want_ to do the latter _really_ freaked me out, even though I typically did it anyway, so I stuck with doing the former.

What freaked me out, was that I had no idea where these thoughts had come from or what they meant. I wasn't entirely sure that I _wanted_ to know. Maybe I was just overreacting, I'm told I tend to do that, but something about being around that boy was _freaking_ _me_ _out_.

The first day I deemed productive and nearly perfect. As far as recording goes. I knew we had at least a month more of days like that and an even longer period of days where our manager wanted to kill us before we were anywhere _near_ done. But it would be _so_ fucking awesome in the meantime.

Finally, after Ray and Frank got into a guitar-spazz-off frenzy/fight around nightfall, our manager called it quits, saying we were high off sleep deprivation. Milly, who had curled up in a corner to cat-nap, would probably have agreed.

Of course, just as I started carrying Milly out to the car, Frankie stopped me by taking my arm gently. I let out a shuttered breath of surprise and my heart leapt against the sleeping Milly.

"Hey," he whispered, so as not to wake my foster child. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm...I'm fine," I lied on almost every level. "Why?"

"I dunno...you just seem...not fine,"

"Well, I'm..._not_ not fine,"

"Okay...good," he smirked, stroking Milly's hair.

"Except...Lyn sent me the divorce papers today," I admitted.

"Oh...shit, man," he said. "I'm...sorry. I thought she'd...you know...at least try begging for forgiveness first. Even though she totally doesn't deserve it."

"Frankie," I half-laughed. "Begging for forgiveness signifies the worth of receiving it."

"Wow...that was deep shit, man,"

I chuckled. "Well, when you're in deep shit, you tend to end up spitting some out."

He giggled, looking down. "True. So true."

His giggle warmed me a little, and made me smile. I looked down awkwardly, starting to feel myself blush...for whatever reason.

"Well...I gotta get Blue Bell here home," I said, reminding both of us about whom I held in my arms.

"Okay," he murmured. "Well...if you need to talk or anything..."

"I'll do what I always do," I said.

Which, technically is storming in his house and launching into a rave...but I _meant_ I'd simply call him. I hoped he knew that.

"Right," he muttered. "Well...see ya, Gee."

My heart started beating faster as he began backing away.

"Bye,"

He turned around, and my heart slowed and sank. What was _wrong_ with me?

**Frank** **POV**

I had just bought myself a one way ticket to hell. How could I be glad that Gerard and Lyn-z were getting a divorce? How could I be almost glad that _Jamia_ _and_ _I_ were getting a divorce? Well...I knew _how_...but that was a pathetic, wimpy, meaningless excuse.

Did I feel bad about how _Gerard_ felt about it? Of course I did. I wanted him to be happy, no matter what. It broke my heart to see him upset. I wanted to kill Lyn even more now that she'd hurt him like that. But I couldn't help the feeling that he would find something or someone that would heal that hole.

I couldn't decide if that last conversation between us was _different_, or _awkward_ _and_ _different_. It definitely had a different edge to it.

Seeing him carry Milly like that felt like the sweetest thing. The new nickname "Blue Bell" also made it hard not to smile. He would have been an amazing father if he could have produced kids. Of course, that might've been my fault. I kicked him in the balls so many times, it was a miracle he still had them.

Not that I was thinking about his balls. Well...I _was_. But that's not the point.

I walked toward my car, feeling a crazy smile plastered to my face.

**Milly** **POV**

"_You need something, sweetie?" Gerard asked me._

"_Help," I said._

"_With what?"_

_I held out my arm, showing him the gaping wounds that bled profusely. That was only an example; my whole body had those same wounds._

"_How?" he asked, running his hand over the wounds._

_His hand came up clean and he got a confused look on his face. The wounds seared in pain, and I tried to scream words at him, but he only got more and more confused. He panicked and brought me bandages, but they dissolved as soon as they touched my skin._

"_I can only help a few," he whispered, crying._

I woke up feeling uncomfortable. My mind felt a little groggy, but I vaguely realized I was laying down in the backseat of a car. Something relatively slow and boring was playing on the stereo. It sounded like the same band that Gerard had as his ringtone.

I sat up and instantly looked at Gerard. Then I remembered the dream. Something snapped in my mind, and I knew I understood something more about him. He couldn't help me much...but he _could_ help me, if I let him.


	24. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

**Gee** **POV**

A couple weeks passed by peacefully, but not quite happily. Lyn-z never called, or made any effort to make contact with me. Milly seemed to have gained a little weight since I'd taken her in, but she still looked partially emaciated. She'd moved on from her Hanson obsession, to a Dixie Chicks obsession. The court date, now a week away, loomed like an invisible presence in the house, bringing us both on edge.

Frankie, as it turns out, didn't have to move out of his house. The day after Jamia told him she wanted a divorce, she packed a select few things and moved into an apartment on her own. Frankie said every now and then he'd come home to find more of her stuff missing.

"I don't understand why she doesn't just go ahead and pack everything," he said one day. "I mean, I know she probably feels awkward or _stupid_ or whatever, but still..."

"Yeah, you're not resentful at _all_," I said, then immediately mentally slapped myself.

"Well, shit, I'm _sorry_, I should just be happy as a fucking clam," he spat. "Especially since they're now an endangered species because greedy old bitches are pearl hungry, and those fucking otters can't just eat a bush or something."

"Well, first of all, I don't think clams are endangered, and secondly, bushes aren't edible," I said, feeling a smirk pull at my lips.

"Shut up, Gerard," he said, an annoyed look on his face.

"Sorry...I'm just saying,"

"You're '_just_ _saying_' too much,"

Meanwhile, Milly's testimony, it was decided, would be given in quite a unique style. Since she never learned sign language, which most mutes use in order to give a testimony, they agreed to let her write everything down, like she does at home, and the judge would read it aloud. For some reason, though, that made her nervous. Of course, she probably felt nervous for reasons other than having to write.

* * *

**Milly** **POV**

I stood outside the courthouse, in Oklahoma again for the first time in months, holding Gerard's hand. The trial had finally come. My mind drew a blank as to why I stood there. I couldn't concentrate, remember the past four months, or anything about myself for that matter. All I could remember was that I didn't want to be there.

Gerard gave my hand a reassuring squeeze and continued to wait patiently for me to take another step forward. My mind stirred, but lingered in its murky lake of confusion. Until, finally, the lake became shallower and shallower, and then disappeared at last.

I shut my eyes and squeezed Gerard's hand back, trying to block out the memories that I knew I'd have to face by the end of the day. And I'd have to face them without my mom or dad. I started to shake, and Gerard wrapped me in a hug until I started to cry.

Above all, forget the memories or not being able to talk, the thing I dreaded the most...was _him_. I could deal with the crowd, I could deal with writing things down for the judge. But I _couldn't _deal with facing _him_. The one person whom I now feared the most...and I didn't even know his name.

But I _had_ to face him.

"Milly...sweetie...it's starting," Gerard murmured.

I let go of him and nodded.

He took my hand again and led me inside the courthouse.

* * *

With the help of Gerard, I'd managed to actually walk inside the building. But even Gerard couldn't help me when I actually saw the bastard. He didn't look any different today than he did in my memories, except for the orange jumpsuit. And there, on his cheek, was a scar.

Terror filled me, stealing my breath and any recollection of the past four months. I had no knowledge of the courthouse, of him being caught, or of me being safe. Instead, I sat on my deck again, chained to the railing...watching him torture and slaughter my family.

I shrieked.

"Stop! Please!" I screamed.

I could see the eyes on me, but I couldn't sense their gaze. I didn't even notice that I was talking again; I just wanted to get away.

"_Don't do it, don't do it, don't do it!_" I sobbed.

He looked back at me, and broke out a broad grin that sent yet more fear in me.

A hand touched my shoulder, and I went father into hysterics, screaming bloody murder.

"Milly!" Mom screamed. "Leave her alone!"

"_No, no, no, no, no,_" I cried.

"Milly!" Dad roared. "No! Stop!"

"_Please!_" I begged. "_Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop..._"

"Milly!" Gerard's voice finally reached me. "Milly, Milly, I'm here! You don't have to do this, you really don't!"

"Make him stop," I sobbed, realizing I was on the floor.

"He stopped," Gerard told me, wrapping me in a hug.

He must have taken me out of the courtroom, because I didn't recognize the environment.

"Where am I?" I choked out.

"You're right outside of the courtroom," he said.

I must not have paid attention.

"You don't have to go back in there," he continued. "I can tell them you won't do it, because you don't have to do it, you know that, right?"

I nodded.

"You want to leave?"

"I need to help Mama and Daddy," I whimpered.

He gave me a look of disbelief, then looked down. When he looked back up, he looked tired, but understanding.

"All right," he said, standing up.

He took my hand and helped me up, then put a reassuring arm around me.

"You still wanna use paper?" he asked.

I nodded. "Uh-huh."

* * *

"State your name for the record,"

_Amelia_ _Walker_, I wrote, then showed the judge.

"Amelia Walker," she repeated aloud.

"You prefer to go by Milly, don't you?"

I nodded.

I went in intending to answer everything with a blank mind, but I figured out quickly that wasn't possible. I avoided looking at the murderer after they made me point to him. Which, as it turns out, felt hard to do.

"Can you tell me, in your own words, what happened on that day?"

I put my head in my hands and shook a little, then looked up, feeling tears fall down my scarred cheek, and nodded. It took me a while, a time which was filled with an unbearable silence, to write everything down. Several times I looked away from writing because of the tears and pain, but eventually I started letting the tears fall as I wrote, on the paper and pen.

I handed the pad to Judge Dutton for her to read it aloud.


	25. Chapter 24

**A/N: Okay, this one feels really weird...lemme know what you think.**

Chapter 24

"'It started when I noticed my cat wasn't sleeping in his chair,'" Judge Dutton started. "'I went to look for him in my front yard, and I found him stabbed to death, still bleeding. I went back inside to tell Mom, and through the blinds I saw her passed out on the deck, with _him_ standing over her. My dad was running up to him, with a knife in his hand.

"'He'd overpowered my dad, and I got really scared. So I started calling the police, and told them what was happening, looking through the blinds every now and then. He must have seen me look once, because, while I was still on the phone with the police, I looked out and saw he wasn't there anymore, and then someone jerked me around and hung up the phone. He grabbed me and carried me outside, and chained me up like my parents.

"'My dad kept calling him bad names, and my mom kept saying "don't hurt her," and stuff like that. He listened...but only to do the opposite of what they were saying. He took the knife my dad had tried to defend Mom with, and sat down next to me.

"'You wanna see how I got this scar?' he asked, pointing at his cheek. 'Here...I'll show you.' He said it just like the Joker.'"

I looked over at Gerard, hoping that might make him understand my earlier Batman freak out. He had wide eyes and an intense expression. I still had no idea what he was thinking.

"'So he carved my cheek open, and my parents cried. My mom screamed so loudly at him that he actually stopped and turned to her.

"'"Don't worry...you'll get your turn," he said.'

"'He left the deck for a minute, then returned with some object I'd never seen. He called it a "Thumbscrew." He sat down in front of my mom, so I couldn't see her, and I just heard screaming.'"

I continued crying, heavier now, as the more gruesome part of my memory was read out loud.

"'He left the Thumbscrew in front of her, and left the deck again. He came back with a few more objects, and a really big smirk on his face. One of them looked like a ball with a handle. He called that one a "Sprinkler." Another looked like claws. He called that one a "Cat's Paw." He shook the sprinkler over my dad's head, and liquid hit him. Dad bit his lip and closed his eyes, but I could tell he felt pain.

"'Then he brought the Cat's Paw out...he put it on his hand, and swung at my dad. He didn't stand right in front of Dad, so I could see the blades make contact with Dad's arm. He screamed as blood ran from his arm. Mom yelled at the man to make him stop, but he swung again instead, making contact with my dad's leg. He hit again, and again. I started to see bone in his leg and arm. He started mutilating his stomach, spilling a little more than blood. Then he hit my dad's face, and he stopped screaming.

"'He did the same to my mom. Then he turned to me, and picked up the only object I had previously recognized. A crowbar.

"'"This is a crowbar," he said, like I didn't know. "I'm gonna show you just how painful it can be." I thought I was gonna die. I didn't mind dying so much as I minded dying _painfully_. But then the police came. They hit him with a taser, and it was all over. I'm alive, but my parents aren't.'"

I gripped my head as Judge Dutton finished, digging my nails into my scalp. I tried to speak, even though I knew it wasn't necessary. The important part of my testimony was over. But I still tried to utter a noise, _any_ noise. I failed. I was back to the state I had been in before: mute.

"Your witness," the good attorney said.

The foul attorney stood up, as if he thought I would answer to someone who defended an animal.

* * *

**Gee** **POV**

Milly's story appalled me. She sat and sobbed while Judge Dutton read it out loud, and I felt the urge to go up there and comfort her, like I would normally do, but I restrained myself. I couldn't believe what I was hearing, though I knew most of what had happened beforehand. It made it hard to pay attention to anything the defense attorney said. He obviously didn't have much, though. Maybe that's the price of his client not pleading insane.

I didn't even notice when someone sat down next to me, but then someone rested their head on my shoulder. Looking over, I saw Frankie staring ahead at Milly.

"What are you doing here?" I whispered.

"I'm here for you guys," he whispered back.

I reached for his hand to give him a grateful squeeze, feeling my heart accelerate for some reason. _Damn_ _it_.

That freaked me out. It almost seemed like I had more than friendly feelings for him. But that couldn't be right...I mean, I'd _just_ separated from Lyn-z. There was no way I could feel something for someone else _already_, especially not _Frankie_.

Milly came down off the stand, still tearing up, and sat next to Frankie. He put an arm around her and rubbed her arm encouragingly. She sat like a statue, though, obviously trying to remain at least partially calm.

At last, to everyone's relief, it ended. The jurors went to the deliberation room, and we stood to leave the courtroom until they were done. I put an arm around Frankie, meaning it as a grateful gesture. But then, before we had a chance to leave, we were intercepted by a very unwelcomed individual.

"Faggots!" the murderer spat at us, struggling against the guards that tried to pull him away. "And _you_, little bitch. You're fakin' it, I can tell. You can speak. I'll come find you! I'll finish what I started. You _think_ it's over, don't you?"

Milly clutched Frankie's shirt and clung tightly to him, while he hugged her back supportively with an angered expression directed at our attacker. The guards managed to pull him away, but Milly still looked terrified.

"Milly, sweetie, he's gone," I said, stroking her hair.

She just shook her head and closed her eyes.

"I'm sorry," the prosecuting attorney said to me. "That happens a lot, it doesn't mean anything."

"Frankie..." I drew my arm back.

"I got her," he took her hand and led her out the door. She looked back at me for a while, then followed Frankie obediently.

"It's nothing to worry about," the attorney continued.

"Nothing to worry about?" I repeated, slightly angry. "He _murdered her family_. Of course it's something to worry about!"

Most of the people had departed from the room already, so my voice seemed relatively loud in the vacancy of the room.

"He can't hurt her-"

"I _realize_ that, but she's _still_ _terrified_ _of_ _him_!"

I felt slightly guilty for yelling, because I knew she had done nothing wrong, but I couldn't stop myself.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I'm...sorry, I just..."

"I know," she said sympathetically. "This is hard. For you both."


	26. Chapter 25

**A/N: I know it's too short, but...CHAPTER 25 AND SORTA CLIMAX! WHOOO!**

Chapter 25

**Frank** **POV**

Gerard, Milly, and I sat down on a bench to try and eat dinner while we continued to wait for the jury to come back. Milly practically refused to eat anything, and Gee was too busy trying to make her eat to eat anything himself. I just felt too distracted.

I had hung around the back pew while Milly gave her testimony. Several times my eyes became clouded with tears and I had to choke back a sob. I noticed Milly, as would be expected, avoided looking at the man in orange. Which probably served her well, as he looked at her with a smirk that made me want to strangle him. To put it lightly, he _disgusted_ me.

Somehow, I think it was Gerard's fault for rubbing it off on me, but I started feeling a little protective of Milly. Even though she obviously _wasn't _as innocent as you would expect an eleven-year-old to be, what with her running away on numerous occasions and insulting Bob's face, she still seemed fragile. Her fear and pain could break any heart, let alone one as emotional as mine.

Right when Gerard seemed within an inch of force feeding his ward, she jumped up and made a T with her fingers. Gee looked annoyed, but nodded and told her to hurry.

"What was that?" I asked.

"She went to the bathroom,"

"Oh,"

I waited for him to say something, but he seemed to feel nervous. That freaked me out a little, because he's _never_ nervous. Especially around me. But...lately he'd been like that. What was up with him?

"Gerard?" I blurted out.

"Yeah?"

_Oh, crap...he expects me to say something,_ I thought, feeling my heart rate quicken. _What _was_ I saying?_

"Um...never mind,"

He raised one eyebrow in confusion.

"_What_?" he asked.

"I...don't remember," I lied.

"Yes, you do,"

"You probably don't want to talk about it," I said, trying to think up another question.

He paused, then nodded slowly. "Okay. Fine."

He had to have seen through that. He _had_ to. Maybe _that_ was it. Maybe he knew how I felt.

"Do you- Never mind,"

Shit, I was _not_ about to ask that. I _know_ I was not.

"Frankie," he chuckled. "Ask it or don't. I think I can handle whatever it is."

_No, you can't,_ I thought.

"No...I just...forgot again,"

He leaned back and stared at me pensively. "It really can't be that bad. If it's about what I think it's about, everyone's already asked me whatever it is you're gonna ask."

"Then I can ask one of them and _not_ bother you,"

"Okay...all right...fine," he said.

Milly came back, just as someone came up to us and said the jury had returned. Milly's eyes widened, as I predicted they would.

We walked through the doors once more and found a seat. I watched the jury, and tried to take something, _anything_, out of their expressions. But I got nothing...out of any of them. Were they _trained_ to do that or something?

"Would the defendant please rise while I read the verdict?" Judge Dutton said.

The man stood.

"On the murder of Camille and Alexander Walker...the jury finds the defendant, David Gald, guilty. You are sentenced to death by lethal injection,"

* * *

**Milly** **POV**

_Did I hear him right? I better have...I hope I did..._

I felt a huge wave of relief as the police officer handcuffed the man, David apparently, once more and started leading him out of the room. He quickly glanced back at me and bared his teeth, so I diverted my gaze toward Gerard.

He had his hand over his mouth and tears of joy, or so I assumed, leaked out of his eyes. I looked over at Frankie just in time for him to wrap me in a hug.

But I still didn't feel safe.


	27. Chapter 26

**A/N: Haha...the millipede thing actually happened with me and my Dad a few weeks ago...I had to put it in here.**

Chapter 26

**Gerard** **POV**

"Milly," I laughed. "What are you doing?"

Milly stood next to the studio door, a bottle of awesome in one hand and a drumstick balancing a paper towel on its tip in the other. She looked more annoyed than anything, and her gaze darted all around the place.

"Where's my second 5A?" I heard Bob ask.

"I found it," I yelled.

Milly looked at me and then shook her head.

"What are you doing?" I asked again as Bob walked out the door.

"Milly," he gritted through his teeth, trying hard to hide his impatience.

We'd been in the studio for over three hours just trying to get Bob's drum solo down, and so far we'd only managed to get through half of it without some mishap. First, Ray had accidentally hit some button that changed the pitch, then the hi-hat fell, and then _Bob_ fell. Don't ask me how _that_ happened.

So, all in all, Bob's patience was wearing thin, while everyone else just felt bored. Ray started spinning around in a swivel chair, Frankie started texting, and Mikey, I swear, started talking to himself.

Bob held his hand out for the drumstick and Milly gave one last paranoid look around before handing it to him.

"Thank you," he said.

"What's wrong, girly?" I asked.

She picked up a pen and scribbled something really quickly. After the trial, she'd somehow gone back to the state she'd been in before, which really upset me. I guess the sudden shock and stress of seeing David caused her to snap into talking, because I hadn't heard her say a word since.

_Millipede_, she wrote.

"Millipede?" I repeated incredulously. "But they're so cute!"

She gave me a look of disbelief and disgust.

"Hell no, they're not!" Frankie exclaimed. "A _Millipede_?"

Ray laughed. "So _Milly_'_s_ afraid of the _Millies_."

I laughed with him.

"Where is it?" Mikey asked.

Milly shrugged, then made a sweeping motion with her hand.

"It...ran and hid?" Frankie guessed.

She nodded.

"Eeeewwwwwww!" he squealed. "Too many legs!"

She nodded, adding a pitiful look to her face. Looking almost as cute as Frankie...but I didn't just think that.

"You two are pathetic," Mikey smirked, getting up.

He picked up the paper towel that had fallen to the floor and knelt beside the recording...desk...thing. Milly turned around just as I heard a thud, which made both her and Frankie squeak.

"See?" Mikey said, holding up the paper towel, which now contained bug guts. "Nothing to worry about."

Milly gave him a grateful smile.

"I love you, Mikey!" Frankie exclaimed.

I knew he was joking, but for some reason I felt angry. I couldn't help but want to slap Mikey, which in turn made me want to slap myself.

_Seriously, Gerard? _I thought. _You_ cannot _seriously react like this to things Frankie says. You're not even divorced to Lyn-z yet, and you're already letting yourself go for a _male_ rebound in the _band_? You whore._

If only I seriously thought these were rebound feelings.

"What?" Mikey asked me.

"What 'what?'" I asked him.

"You're glaring at me," he pouted.

"What? No, I'm...thinking,"

"'Bout what?"

I shrugged and glanced back toward Bob, who had stopped playing in order to properly glare at his drum set.

* * *

Finally done with recording for the day, Milly and I headed to the car in exhaustion. Milly seemed bored with the recording studio at that point, but I knew I couldn't leave her at home alone. And I didn't want to deal with the chaos of a babysitter.

Mikey followed me to my car, a suspicious look on his face.

"_Yes_?" I asked.

"You're acting weird," he stated.

"I'm sorry, _I_ am?" I asked, shooing Milly into the car.

"Yes, lately you've been acting weird,"

"Well...I'm sorry you feel that way,"

"Actually...Frankie has been, too,"

"I...haven't noticed that," I said truthfully.

"You've both been acting weird,"

"_Okay_, there's weirdness going on, what's your _point_?"

"You tell me,"

"I swear, you're off your meds," I said.

"You're both _especially_ weird around _each_ _other_," he continued. "Is there something to that?"

"Not to my knowledge," I said, starting to feel annoyed. "Apparently you know more than me."

"I don't think I do," he smirked.

"Okay...you got me," I said. "Jamia wants a divorce from Frankie."

"I know _that_," he said. "He told me already...but what does that have to do with _you_?"

"You tell me! _Maybe_ it has something to do with the fact that we're the only ones getting a divorce in the band,"

I looked over at Milly, who was giving me a sad face to try and get me in the car.

"Maybe...but that would be more of an _understanding_ kind of weird, not an _awkward_ kind of weird,"

"Oh. My. God. What. _Is it to you_?"

"Well, you're my brother, Frankie's my friend, I'm _concerned_,"

"I don't know what's going on," I told him truthfully. "Okay? Now, I need to take Milly home before she runs away, _yet again,_ because of boredom."

"Okay," he said, still acting suspicious.

I shook my head slowly and got in the driver's seat.


	28. Chapter 27

**A/N: So, some of you wanted more of an explanation on Lyn and Gee, and some wanted more on Frankie and Gee, so I hope this accomplished both. Love the constructive crit! Thanks! If the story could use anything, ANYTHING AT ALL, please feel free to tell me in the comments. XD Thanks people! 'Specially TiLlyLoVeSMcR, Chemical 30, and Ashkie Sage for the frequent reviews telling me how the story's doing, and electricc rose for the best review I've gotten on this site lately!**

Chapter 27

**Milly** **POV**

I'd started getting along with my therapist a lot more. Listening to Frankie talk about bottling up my feelings kinda opened up my mind, I guess. It became a lot less irritating once I started cooperating, too.

"So...Gerard mentioned you like Hanson music a lot," she said. "And the A*Teens. You dance to it, too. Is there...something in particular that you like about that music?"

I picked up my pad and thought a little while, then wrote down, _I dunno...I guess it's happier than most of the recent stuff. _

"So you don't like _anything _after the 90s?"

_No. I tried to listen to some of Gerard and his wife's stuff after they took me in. Gerard's in My Chemical Romance, which was a just little too dark for me, and Lyn-z's in Mindless Self Indulgence, which I __really__ hated._

I gave her the pad and she took a moment to read it.

"Why did you hate Mindless Self Indulgence?" she asked, handing me my pad back.

_I dunno...I guess I could cut you to the chase and say it's stuff my parents would hate,_

She read my words and laughed a little. "So how are things between them? Gerard and Lyn-z? Last time you said they were fighting more and more."

_Well...Lyn-z moved out with someone else from her band. A guy she cheated with. She and Gerard are kinda in the middle of a divorce now. They're both cooperating, so it's going by really quickly, but I think if that Jimmy guy wasn't involved like he is, Gerard wouldn't be so willing. They've talked over the phone a few times recently, but it was just arguing from what I heard. They finally picked a date to go over some things. Maybe everything, I dunno. Lyn-z actually seems sorry for it ending like that, though. Like she wanted to get a divorce, __then__ go out with Jimmy, which is really stupid, because __who could like that guy__? This whole thing really hurt Gerard, though. I think he's really tired from everything._

"I can imagine," she said, obviously happy with my long response. "Is this hard for you? I mean, how does Gerard's stress affect you?"

_It kinda makes me sad that he's sad, but I think he's gonna be better off divorced than with a wife who he can't get along with. So I guess it's just kind of like a "wait it out" kind of thing._

"Ah, I see," she said. "So, back to the 90s...do you think there might be any other reason that you only like the 90s music...other than it's perkiness?"

I thought a little while, then shook my head.

"You don't think it's linked to your parents in anyway?"

I felt a little taken aback, even though that was why I was _here_. I shook my head wearily.

"What kind of music did your parents like?"

90s music.

She must have seen that in my expression, because she smirked.

"I thought that might be it,"

I nodded my head, aiming for a "yeah...well," expression.

"So...this Jimmy guy...is he at least cute?"

I shook my head.

"And why don't you like him?"

_His music...which I guess is also Lyn-z's music, so I guess I __should__ dislike her just as much...but he wrote the lyrics. He just seems like a jerk._

She smiled. "Well...music is personal. It's a piece of your soul in a way, if you're a musician. I'd say judging him based on that is safe. And you said Gerard's music is a little too dark for you...is _he_ too dark?"

_He hasn't shown me a dark side. I think he tries to hide dark things from me because of my parents._

"That makes sense," she said. "Did Lyn-z try to hide anything from you?"

_Yeah, I guess. I mean she didn't curse much around me, like she does around other people. But she still kinda scared me sometimes._

"Why?"

_She'd yell at me when I did something bad...and she grabbed my arm once,_

"But Gerard doesn't yell?"

I shook my head.

"Do you dislike or...feel intimidated by any one else Gerard has contact with?"

I thought for a moment.

_Gerard's sister in law, Alicia, kinda scares me. I can tell she's nice, but I still feel uncomfortable around her. And..._

I thought a little more, reluctant to admit anyone else.

_His bandmate, Frankie. He doesn't __usually__ scare me, but sometimes he has his moods. Well...I guess it's more like __I__ have __my__ moods, and he only tolerates so much. I mean, it's only when I get violent, which makes sense. But there was one time when he came over to our house and he got drunk, so I went into my room to avoid him. But that's just 'cause drunk people in general make me feel scared._

"Is he a violent drunk?"

I shook my head.

"So he's Gerard's _friend_ as well as his bandmate?"

_Yeah...more like best friend. I think. They used to make really weird jokes around each other. But recently Gerard's acting like he's kinda scared to be around him...Frankie's attitude hasn't changed though. He still..._

I thought about that hard, starting to realize something.

_kinda...acts happier around him. He still acts different around Gee than he does around anyone else. I dunno why._

"Hm," the therapist looked thoughtful suddenly, like that told her something potentially big. "What kind of jokes do they make around each other?"

_I dunno...I don't get them...I think they're grown up jokes,_

"Ah," she smirked a little. "Is Frankie...um...gay?"

Gay? What did that mean?

_What does that mean?_

The therapist looked scared all of the sudden, like she'd just gotten in trouble.

"It's...when, instead of a guy falling in love a girl...he falls in love with another guy," she explained. "Or a girl falls in love with a girl instead of a guy. Actually, the correct term is _homosexual_, but the modern term is _gay_."

Whoa...I'd never heard of that before. How had I not heard of that before? It seemed so foreign to me. But how? I mean, why didn't it occur to me on my own...it definitely wasn't _impossible_. Guys and girls are kind of the same...minus the physical differences. I guess I saw them as robots, programmed to fall in love with the opposite sex. Everything was set like that.

Was Frankie gay? Was _Gerard_ gay? Would that explain how they acted around each other? But...Gerard fell in love with Lyn-z...he couldn't be gay. And Frankie fell in love with Jamia...he couldn't be gay, either.

_I don't think so...Frankie had a wife, Jamia,_

"But then there's bisexual...or just bi...where you can fall in love with either boys or girls,"

Wow, okay...never mind, then. Maybe they were both bisexual.

"And some men have wives just so they can fool people into thinking they _aren't_ gay," she continued.

Now she had _completely_ confused me. Maybe even changed how I saw Frankie and Gerard completely. Were they _lying_ to people?

"Well...um...it looks like I've just shocked you," she said. "Sorry, I thought you knew what gay meant. And...we're about out of time. Maybe that's something you can think about until our next session."

_Can_ think about it? Like I could _not_ think about it? Yeah, right.


	29. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

I couldn't talk to Gerard about it. I couldn't talk to Frankie about it, either. I didn't know if it was rude to ask someone whether they were gay or bi, and I couldn't accuse them of lying to me about it. But this whole thing just completely caught me off guard.

The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Frankie nearly seemed giddy after Gerard had dropped me off at his house, and kissed him jokingly. It made me wonder why I hadn't thought about it then. _God_, I'm so stupid.

And then Gerard, acting weird ever sense Frankie took him to the club. He told me he didn't know what happened, but _something_ happened. I didn't get it then, but it made since to me after the discussion with my therapist.

So, the next time Gerard took me to the recording studio, I took the time to sit in the corner and write down everything I learned, and what I wanted to know, in order to address the person whom I thought would have the answers.

_My therapist told me about people who are gay. She said it would explain-_

"Hey, Mill!" Ray said cheerily, sitting down next to me.

I slapped the pad against my chest and aimed to give him a wide-eyed look.

"Okaaay, you don't want me to sit next to you,"

I shook my head slowly.

"Okay, then," he said, getting up.

I continued writing.

_-how Frankie and Gerard act around each other now. But they were both married to girls. She said that could mean they're bi, and __now__ they like each other, or they always liked each other, and they only married their wives to get everyone to believe they didn't like each other. Is any of that true, or is it my __therapist__ that's lying to me?_

I got up and held the pad tightly to my chest, so that no one could see the words. Mikey stood behind one of the technical people, watching Frankie play the guitar. I tugged on the bottom of his shirt.

He looked at me and smiled a little. "Hey, Milly. Whatcha need?"

I took his hand and led him right outside the studio, then showed him the paper.

He took a moment to read it, with a concerned expression on his face. As he got further into it, his expression started to lighten up, and he even started to laugh a little.

"Milly...um...I...don't know...okay? I mean, just because they've been acting weird doesn't make them _gay_. Maybe they got into a fight, then made up, and now they feel embarrassed. If you really think they're gay, you should ask them,"

I took the pad and started writing again. He waited patiently for me to finish, obviously trying not to laugh.

_I know it doesn't mean they're gay...but it's just...Frankie always seems happier around Gerard than anyone else. And I dunno if Gerard would get mad if I asked him why he was acting so weird around Frankie. And they still hang out a lot, so I dunno about the fight thing._

"Well, Milly...yeah, I've noticed them acting weird, but you can't jump to conclusions,"

I nodded.

_I know._

"Mikey," I heard Ray call. "We need you."

"Coming," he said, then he turned to me. "And Gerard would definitely _not_ get mad at you. For _anything_."

I nodded again.

"Okay, we gotta go back inside,"

I made the drinking sign I'd seen him do to let him know I needed the water fountain.

He smirked, but I didn't know why. "Okay. Go get some water, but then come right back. You know Gerard freaks when you wander."

I nodded.

I turned to leave, and heard Ray just before I went my way.

"What was that about?"

"She wanted to know about some _things_ we say," Mikey lied.

Ray laughed.

* * *

**Frank** **POV**

I walked out of the sound proof room, and immediately noticed Mikey had returned...but Milly had not. And I _knew_ she walked out _with_ _him_. I looked at Gee, who seemed concerned, too.

"Mikey," I said. "Did you let Milly wander off?"

"I just let her go to the water fountain," he said.

"_Alone_?" I exclaimed.

"Don't flip your shit!" he said. "You act like this is a dangerous place! I told her-"

"Do you have any idea how many times she's run away given the chance?" Gerard burst.

"Gerard, she's only ever run away-"

"How do you know something won't trigger her?" I snapped.

"Frank, she won't run away," he said.

Then we heard a knock on the door, and turned to find Milly. She gave us a weak smile, looking slightly embarrassed.

"See," Mikey said. "She's here, safe and sound."

I exhaled in relief, and I faintly heard Gee do the same. How did I start feeling so paternal toward her? I guess I should blame Gee.

"You win," Gee told Mikey, who flashed a cocky smile.

Not nearly as cute as Gee's - but I didn't think that! No...he's still straight. And I'm still hoping pointlessly.

* * *

I was the last one to leave the studio, since I'm a better guitarist than Ray and I actually _take_ _care_ of my guitar and keep it shiny and clean. Just as I was walking out the door, though, a Smashing Pumpkins t-shirt came within an inch of knocking me to the ground.

"Whoa!" I exclaimed in unison with the wearer of said t-shirt.

I looked up to find perfect, dark brown eyes staring at me.

"Sorry," Gee laughed nervously.

Nervously? Why was he nervous?

"Uh-huh," I murmured, still staring in his eyes.

He continued to stare back, obviously forgetting that he had actually intended to _go inside_ a few minutes earlier. My hand reached up on its own accord, abiding my desire to get closer, and hovered within an a centimeter of Gerard's shirt. My breathing became shallower, and goosebumps rose on my arms. His mouth parted a little, and he brought his hand to my waist.

My thoughts weren't exactly frozen...and nor were they racing, as I would normally try to put it. It felt more along the lines of a trip on acid. No thoughts of the present could come to mind, but almost every other possible thought passed my mind in a very "Jetson's speedway" formation.

Like I said: acid trip.

But then, right as I started to bring myself closer to him, he snapped out of it.

"Oh!" he squeaked. "Damn. Uh...I, uh...forgot Milly's pad. She's...trying to tell me something."

"Right," I said. "'Cause...that's what her pad's...for."

"Yeah," he said.

He still stood there for a few seconds before he darted inside.

"See ya, Frankie!" he bid.


	30. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

**Gee** **POV**

_Holy fuck, I cannot be doing this to myself. God, what _was_ that?_

I made a point to take my time in getting Milly's pad, just to make sure Frankie had left. His eyes - how the fuck have I not noticed them before? I'd never seen so much in those perfect orbs before. Nor had I felt so naked in front of someone. I felt like I just put my heart out on display for him, and I hadn't even said anything except "sorry," and "See ya, Frankie."

But I couldn't help but stare. Not just because they were so beautiful and _alive_, but because they were mesmerizing. _How had I not felt that before?_ Or maybe a better question is...how had I felt that _then_?

I finally found Milly's pad. To pass a little bit of time while I waited to make sure Frankie had left, I flipped through the pages and read a little.

_Are you gonna get me out of here?_

Ah, the start of all this. Somehow, that was a fond memory. I flipped through a few more pages.

_Can I have some milk?_

Not important, but I still smiled reading it. I flipped through the pad again.

_Only if you dance to Run And Tell That,_

I remembered that. I'd asked her to take a shower. For some reason, she was really reluctant.

_Yep, it's all fixed, I don't think I have to go anymore,_

I laughed. She thought that would trick me into taking her out of therapy. To her disappointment, it didn't.

_No, they lay eggs in your stomach and when the eggs hatch you __die__,_

That was a recent comment directed toward Ray, when he asked about her fear of bugs with many legs. He'd simply laughed and said, "Is that _really_ why you're so afraid of those things?"

I flipped until there wasn't any writing, then backed up to the last page.

_My therapist told me about people who are gay..._

Oh God...I read this page over and over, freaking out inside. She hadn't been talking to me. She was talking _about_ Frankie, and not to him, obviously. _Who the fuck had she been talking to?_

Then I remembered Mikey and Milly leaving together. And then a while ago, when Mikey had confronted me about acting weird. _How many people had fucking noticed this?_

Whoa...wait a minute.

_it's just...Frankie always seems happier around Gerard than anyone else._

She thought that? I hadn't noticed that. I needed to get out of there. Maybe _I_ needed to talk to _Milly_ more than _she_ needed to talk to _me_.

* * *

I handed Milly the pad, making sure I had kept it on the last page. She picked up her pencil and froze just as it touched the paper. She looked over at me with a grimace.

"You were talking to Mikey, weren't you?"

She nodded.

"Why couldn't you talk to me?"

She pointed to the part about me getting mad.

"Milly, I wouldn't get mad at you for that. Asking other people questions about me, though...that hurts my feelings. Even if it is my brother,"

She immediately looked _sincerely_ sorry, and even a little pained. She opened her mouth, like she wanted to talk, but only tiny breaths were released. Returning to her pad, she scribbled something.

_I'm sorry...I was confused,_

"I know. I am, too," I admitted.

_Do__ you love Frankie?_

"Girly," I half-laughed. "You know I love Lyn-z. If I loved Frankie as more than a friend, I wouldn't have married Lyn-z."

_Then why do you act weird around each other?_

"I don't know," I said. "Like I said, I'm confused, too."

_You don't sound confused. You're just making __me__ more confused._

"I am confused," I assured her. "I guess...you know, I just want to get over Lyn, and my mind's doing some weird stuff to help that. I mean...I guess you could say it would _seem_ like I love Frankie, even to me, but...in reality, I don't."

She seemed to think about that for a moment, then wrote something else.

_What about Frankie?_

"Milly...Frankie's got his own problems," I tried to explain. "Maybe it's the same for him, maybe you're just reading too much into it. I can't know."

_So...you loving Frankie...is really you still loving Lyn-z in a less painful way?_

"Exactly," I said, proud she understood so well.

_And if it never goes away...what does that mean?_

Oh, shit...how the hell was I supposed to know?

I sighed. "I guess...then...it would mean something slightly different."

_Like?_

"Like..._if that were to happen_...that _might_ mean...that _then_ I would love Frankie,"

_So...you're bisexual?_

"No!" I said defensively, although I didn't know why I felt offended. "I mean...maybe...you know, _now_ I'm a little _curious_...but...not, like...bi...or whatever."

_So...if you __did__ love Frankie...would it be bad?_

"_Bad_?" I repeated. "No, it wouldn't be bad."

_Then why do you look like you think it would be bad?_

"Um...well...technically, no, it wouldn't be bad. But, see...in the situation I'm in...it's hard to explain, but...yeah, now it would be bad,"

_Oh_,

"Okay...um...if that's all cleared up...can we go home now?"

She thought a little, then nodded.

Though I was certain everything I had said to her had made perfect sense, I could help but feel like I had just lied to her. Almost like...it _wasn't_ just something I was feeling because of Lyn-z. But, rather, something I finally felt free to feel _despite_ Lyn-z.


	31. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

_A drink for the horror that I'm in,  
for the good guys and the bad guys,  
for the monsters that I've been,  
Three cheers for tyranny, unapologetic apathy,  
'Cause there ain't no way that I'm coming back again,_

__

And through it all, how could you cry for me?  
'Cause I don't feel bad about it  
So shut your eyes, kiss me goodbye,  
and sleep...just sleep,  
The hardest part's...the awful things that I've seen

_Just sleep, just sleep,  
Just sleep, just sleep,  
Just sleep, just sleep_

I stopped just before the last part, when I saw Milly had only calmed down. She was no where close to falling asleep again, so I tried another song.

_Well, when you go...  
don't ever think I'll make you try to stay.  
And maybe when you get back,  
I'll be off to find another way_

_And after all this time that you still owe,  
you're still the good-for-nothing I don't know,  
So take your gloves and get out  
_  
Skeleton gloves appeared in my mind, for reasons I didn't want to admit.

_Better get out,  
while you can_

I sang those words more to myself than anyone else.

_When you go,  
would you even turn to say,  
"I love you  
more than I did  
yesterday"_

Wait...those weren't the lyrics. How had I forgotten my own lyrics all of the sudden? I didn't forget, that's how.

_Sometimes I cry so hard from pleading,  
so sick and tired of all the needless beating  
But baby when they knock you,  
down and out,  
it's where you oughta stay_

The song had a new meaning all of the sudden. Milly's eyes finally seemed too heavy to stay open, and she drifted off into sleep.

_And after all the blood that you still owe,  
another one's just another blow_

No...I needed to stop singing. Milly was asleep anyway, it didn't matter. But I couldn't deny it. I _knew_ the truth now, regardless of the logic trying to nudge its way into my sight. _That's_ what that mystery song was about.  
But what was I supposed to do?

"You're gonna get bitch slapped by a religious nut one day," I laughed.  
"I already have!" Ray exclaimed.  
We were already in the studio, waiting for the rest of the guys to show up. Brian took Milly down the hall to the bathroom, hopefully not intending to go in with her, so Ray and I were all alone.  
"Holy crap," I muttered. "Are you serious?"  
"Did I not tell you that story?" he asked.  
"No, tell me, tell me, tell me!"  
"Okay," he began. "So I was in the grocery store -it's always the grocery store, it's so cliche- anyway. So I was checking out and I see this awesome cigarette lighter. I pick it up...and then drop it again...and I pick it up again and I mutter something -it wasn't even a curse word, it was something about being klutzy- and this old, crazy looking lady in front of me turns around and slaps me - for no apparent reason! And then she just starts screaming, 'He's a wizard, he's a wizard!'"  
He paused for a second, obviously trying to think of a witty remark to end his story.  
"So yeah, that's my amazing shopping experience for ya,"  
I burst into laughter. "Are wizards even known carrying cigarette lighters?"  
"I guess Gandalf had one to light his pipe with,"  
Then I heard the door open, and turned to see who was there.  
I stared at Frankie as he entered the room, feeling my heart race at the very sight of him. Had I seriously just started to accept the fact that I had feelings for him? I guess so...I mean, I couldn't help it. They kept getting stronger every passing day.  
_Band member,_ I reminded myself. _Awkward for the others._  
But his eyes, his skin, everything I saw, made me want to melt.  
I tried reminding myself, as I did everytime I saw him now, that it would never work between us. We were famous. If our fans thought we were gay and in love with each other, we'd end up living in a box at best. Even though we tried everything we could to ward off those who would make that happen.  
And then the fact that it was basically like dating a coworker. If we broke up, things would be _so awkward,_ and God only knows if we could even stay in the same band after that.  
Why was I even getting into _if we dated_? We wouldn't even be able to date _despite _all of those things. _Frankie's not gay._ He's not even _bi._  
Frankie's eyes flicked over toward me and a smile broke out across his face.  
A ward of feelings came over me; the overwhelming desire to feel those lips pressed against mine, and the torture of knowing they could never meet without a thousand scornful eyes watching.  
"Gerard?" Ray sung. "Are you with us? Why are you staring at Frankie like that?"  
"'Cause he's got dirt on his face," I said quickly.  
"I don't see any," Ray frowned.  
"Huh...must've been a shadow,"  
"Whatever," he rolled his eyes.  
"Why you two talking 'bout me?" Frankie pouted.  
"'Cause you're so..." I paused.  
I was _not_ about to say cute.  
"...easy to torment."  
"Not nice!" he whined.


	32. Chapter 31

**Sooo...my desktop computer's not working...I hope this turns out okay, 'cause I'm going around my butt cheeks to post it.**

Chapter 31

_"You sure?" Frankie whispered, crawling closer to me on the bed.  
"Pretty sure," I replied confidently.  
"Because, if I didn't know better, I'd say you think Number 7 likes skittles better," he smirked seductively, crawling onto my lap.  
"Really?" I said just as seductively. "Prove it."  
Frankie began to straddle me, pressing his hips to my chest.  
"I will," he murmured.  
I raised myself to a kneeling position, forcing our hips to grind together. We rocked a little, causing friction in our jeans. Frankie let out a sharp gasp. I gripped his hair and pulled him-_

"OOF!" I grunted as a weight fell on me.  
Hands whipped across my chest in confusion, and paper flew in my face. I felt too groggy to even try to figure out what was going on, until I heard a whine.  
"Milly," I groaned, disappointed that she interrupted my dream. "Why?"  
She poked my chest, then point at the clock, and then shrugged as if to say, "_you _why?"  
The clock read **10:32**...and I realized that Milly slept the night.  
"Hey," I half-laughed. "You got a good night's sleep."  
She nodded happily, then looked down and frowned. She looked _extremely_ confused. She picked up her paper and pencil and wrote something down.  
_What's that wet stuff?_  
"What wet stuff?"  
I looked down.  
Fuck. Wet dream. _Damn_ you, Frankie.  
"I...uh...I dunno," I lied. "Maybe I peed in my sleep."  
She shook her head and wrote down something else. _No...it doesn't look like it has the same texture as pee._  
"Are you really thinking about the texture of pee?"  
She gave me a stern look and pointed to the first thing she wrote.  
"Milly, I really- I don't- How should I-"  
She nodded and kept tapping, as if to say "_yes_ you do, don't lie to me."  
How was I going to get out of this one?  
"Milly, I swear-"  
More tapping.  
"Okay, can you stop tapping?"  
She shook her head and kept tapping.  
"I love Frankie!" I blurted. "I. Am_ in love. With Frankie._ You happy?"  
She stared at me. She didn't even write anything down, she just fucking _stared_ at me.  
"I mean...really, really, _really_ in love. So much it...kinda...hurts,"  
_Then just tell him,_  
"I can't...it'd ruin us...it'd ruin the band,"  
_Sounds like either way you're gonna hurt...and it's gonna suck...so it might as well suck honestly,_  
Wow. She really had been spending too much time around us. And for once I felt grateful that we had such twisted and creative minds to rub off on her.  
Too bad I wasn't gonna listen to her, though.  
"You are very right, girly," I said. "Now let's go get some breakfast."  
She wrote something else down.  
_But what does that have to do with the wet stuff?_  
"Jesus-Ba-Jesus, Milly, please stop asking me about the wet stuff!"

~~~~~~~~~~

After a very long, pointless argument filled breakfast, I went to check the mail. Typically, that isn't a very noteworthy two-legged adventure. Maybe it would be noteworthy if it was a _four-wheeled_ adventure, but it wasn't. It was a two-legged adventure.  
And now that you've endured my dumb-shit babbling, I can tell you that there wasn't any mail. Just an envelop. It had no address, and no stamp. It was just a plain, white envelop, that must have been delivered personally.  
I opened it, and took out a small slip of paper.  
_You know I'm coming for you,_  
Without thinking, I shredded the paper and envelop in a frenzy.  
"Shit," I squeaked.


	33. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, _shit_! How did he find us?  
I couldn't know for a fact, but I had a pretty good feeling about who left the note. Maybe he hadn't escaped jail, but he could very well have an accomplice do his dirty work. But how much of David's dirty work?  
Milly could never know, that's all I felt sure about. I had to burn the pieces of the note, and then talk to someone about it. Some law official. But what could they do about a note? Fuck that, I had to tell them. And Milly couldn't know.

**Frank POV**  
_He should've hid you,_  
Was this some sort of prank? Because blowing up my mail box and leaving a creepy note at my door seems like a shitty prank to me. I almost thought it was Jamia, but she seemed to not want to waste her energy on me right now.  
Then, as I read my note for the tenth time, I heard my phone ring. Gerard.  
My heart skipped a tiny beat as I pressed "answer."  
"Hello?"  
"Frankie, I gotta tell you something. You can't tell Milly, even though I think you can figure that out once I tell you, but I just had to say it- I'm freaking out here, I think you can tell-"  
"Gee, spit it out!"  
"I got a note, I think it's from David,"  
Oh God.  
"David...like...Milly's parents' murderer?"  
"Yes! It says 'You know I'm coming for you.' What the fuck am I supposed to do, I thought he was locked up!"  
I stared at my still smoking mailbox.  
"Frankie?"  
"I dunno, man, but I think you better do something," I said, trying not to let my panic be heard. "If that's for real, I think he just blew up my mailbox."  
"Oh my God," Gerard squeaked.  
"Gerard, what if he has an accomplice? What if _that guy_ does everything and goes after Milly even _without_ David?"  
"_You think I haven't thought of that?_" Gerard screamed.  
"Then why the fuck did you call me, if you have everything thought through so fucking well?" I snapped.  
"I'm sorry," Gerard said, voice shaking. "I'm sorry, Frankie, I just..."  
"I know, Gee," I said. "Just call the police, tell them about the notes."  
"Notes?" Gee asked. "He sent you a note, too?"  
"Yeah...oh, God," I said, finally realizing what the note meant.  
"What? What's wrong? What does it say?"  
"It says...'He should have hid you,'"  
"Oh, no, no, no, _no!_ Frankie, I swear, he won't get you! I won't let him! I gotta go, I gotta call the police!"  
He was crying. I could tell.  
"Okay," I whispered.  
How did he find us?

**Milly POV**  
Something was up with Gerard. One minute he went outside to check the mail, the next minute he was rushing me into my bedroom so that he could do something. Somehow he'd gone even paler than he was before, like he was going to be sick.  
When he finally let me out, I wrote down a very simple question, that he still seemed to have trouble answering.  
_What's wrong?_  
"Heh, Milly, nothing's wrong," he said.  
_Then why are you acting so weird?_  
"You're always saying I'm acting weird, I'm really not acting that weird- You know what? Ihave a question for you,"  
_Shoot_  
He half-laughed. "Why'd you hate Jimmy so much? You said it was his music, but Lyn-z's in the same band and you didn't throw salt shakers at her."  
_He wrote the lyrics,_  
"Yeah, but Lyn-z didn't stop him from singing them,"  
I thought about that, then shrugged.  
"What songs did you hear?"  
_I really only heard Panty Shot,_  
"Ohhhhh,"  
_You're still acting weird, though,_  
"Well, I always act weird,"  
I shook my head. _Not like this._  
"You wanna go see Frankie?" he asked.  
I half-sighed, half-growled, knowing I wouldn't be able to crack him.  
_Fine,_ I wrote.


	34. Chapter 33

**A/N: I'm feeling there might be around 40-45 chapters. IF that's accurate, we only have around seven to twelve more chapters left! I hope not, though. I had planned on this to be more drawn out.**

Chapter 33

**Frank POV**  
Hiding the notes from Milly proved harder than I predicted. It was mainly Gerard's fault, though. He told her to avoid going outside for once, but then insisted she go play video games away from us. Almost like he was her older brother, babysitting her. I could tell she felt suspicious.  
"After I called the police, I called the district attorney that worked on David's case," Gerard murmured after Milly walked out of the room.  
"What'd she say?"  
"David's still locked away,"  
"He must have had someone else do it," I said.  
"I thought he was a loner," he whispered, even though Milly couldn't possibly hear us.  
"Maybe he's only a loner when he can be," I muttered. "Maybe he knew he'd have to have others involved."  
"Why is Milly so important to him?"  
"I don't know, Gee," I said. "He's psychotic, maybe in his mind she's the devil's spawn."  
He looked away and stayed silent for a moment, then looked at me again with tears in his eyes.  
"I'm scared, Frankie," he choked out. "What if he _does _get out? Milly's just barely started to touch people again. She _still _has nightmares. She's _still _a mute. If she sees him again, I don't think she'll live through it. And...God...I'm just thinking of emotions. What if _he _kills her?"  
"Gee...he won't," I assured him. "He won't get out."  
"What if someone else does it for him?"  
He wasn't just tearing up at this point. He was full out _crying_. And that broke my heart.  
"Just...be on alert," I said. "Remember, Gee? 'Don't let 'em take you alive.'"  
"This is different," he sobbed.  
"No, Gee, it's not," I said, reaching over to wipe tears away. "You can fight 'em."  
"I'm scared for you, too," he said, gently taking my hand. "If he hurts you because of me, I can't live with that."  
My heart started pounding faster, and I had trouble not crying myself. I knew he cared, but this just blew me away.  
"He won't," I choked out.  
"You don't know that," he squeaked, keeping my palm pressed to his face. "And it's my fault, because I don't know how to stop him- I don't know how to keep him away."  
"Gee, hun, calm down," I brought my other hand to his face. "It is _not. Your. Fault._ You know that. It is not your fault. You don't even know that he's coming. You don't know that he'll break out of jail. You don't know that his accomplice will do anything."  
"I'm still scared, Frankie," he said. "I'm still so scared."  
"I know, Gee," I said, wrapping him in a hug.

~~~~~~~~~~

**Gee POV**  
I'd never been so scared in my life. Yet at the same time, at that moment with Frankie, I'd never felt so safe. But then I felt so stupid to feel safe just because he was there. And then when he took my face in his hands...jeez, I feel unsanitary. At that moment I knew I could worry about David later. I just wanted him to kiss me, then I knew I could calmly think about the whole thing later.  
But now I want to slap myself for being so sentimental.  
Once I'd calmed down and stopped crying, Frankie and I tried to talk about it as logically as possible. We agreed that I had to find someone who could take care of Milly for a while, who David would never suspect to be involved. And we knew it had to be subtle, like it was when I had to work on the record. I only knew of one person whom I could count on, oddly enough.  
Eliza Cuts.  
I hadn't seen her in a long time, but I had talked to her every now and then. Not many people even knew she existed, let alone that I'd talked to her recently. My guess was David wouldn't look there.  
Then we agreed that the rest of the band had to know. Obviously. I mean, David may very well look for her at their houses, too.  
"Oh, God," I said.  
"What?" Frankie asked, immediately looking worried.  
"I wonder if Bob, Mikey, and Ray got notes, too,"  
"He only saw _us _at court,"  
"But he knows where I live," I said. "Even the most insane fans don't know that. He's gotta know who I'm connected to."  
"Who gave him your address?" Frankie asked all of the sudden.  
I didn't think someone might've done _that_.  
"We don't know anyone did that," I said. "He might've seen someone who he knows knows us, but doesn't know him, and told them to give us the notes-"  
"Gerard...you have to consider that possibility, though,"  
He was right. I knew he was right.


	35. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

I called Eliza to ask her if Milly could stay a while, then took Milly home in order for her to pack. She thought it had something to do with the album again, which was perfectly fine by me. I didn't bother to correct her, obviously.  
The entire drive I looked around in a frenzy to make sure I didn't have one car follow me the entire way. I assured Milly I only felt stressed about the album, and that there wasn't anything to worry about.  
I didn't know if David's accomplice, whom I assumed would be doing the deed since the district attorney told me David was still locked up, would bother with Frankie and me if he couldn't find Milly, or if he'd kill us anyway. It had to be worth a shot, right? I mean, could we really _hide _with the paparazzi all over the place, making notes about where we go on a daily basis?  
And even if they somehow missed that, whoever was after Milly knew where we lived. If _no one_ was there, that would basically give them a head start to search for Milly.  
In the time being, I needed to call my friends. Starting with my brother.  
"Mikey?"  
"Yeah, Gee?"  
"What's up?" I asked as casually as I could manage, glancing carefully at Milly.  
"Umm...nothing,"  
"You talk to Frankie recently?"  
"No..."  
"Well you should,"  
"Why?"  
"Okay, bye," I hung up.  
I dialed Bob's number.  
"Hello?" he answered.  
"Hey, what's up?" I asked, feeling my control on my emotions start to slip.  
"Gerard?" he asked in a panicked voice. "Oh my God, dude, _are you seriously asking me that?_ I just talked to Frankie, man, you-"  
"Yeah, I'm taking Milly over to Eliza's _right now_," I gritted through my teeth.  
"Jesus, Gerard, be careful!"  
"Okay, _tell Ray_ I said 'hi,'" I said, trying to put a subtle message in there for him.  
"Right...right, I get it,"  
"Bye,"  
After another 45 minutes or so we arrived at Eliza's house. I hadn't seen my ex-hairdresser in ages, but right now I felt too preoccupied with David to feel nervous about seeing her again. Enough time had passed, though, for all bitter feelings over firing her to have become a distant memory.  
"Hi, Gee," she greeted me happily.  
"Hi, Liz," I said, trying my best to smile.  
She looked down at Milly. "And you must be Milly."  
Milly nodded.  
"Well...since I've been given special instructions to keep a sharp eye on you, I'm guessing you're an escape artist,"  
Milly gave her a broad grin, and then nodded.  
"I thought so," Eliza smiled. "I've heard one story in particular involving a car. I think that also makes you a loop-hole artist."  
Milly kept grinning.  
"I think we're gonna get along just fine," Eliza laughed, leading Milly inside.  
"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, _thank you_," I whispered to Eliza.  
"No problem, Gee,"  
I turned to Milly.  
An innocent looked hung around her, tugging at my heart strings. I took in her blonde hair, her blue eyes and clothing, her smile, and that long scar across her cheek. The scar haunted me, reminding me that I might not see her again.  
Barely holding back tears, I took her hand.  
"Milly, be good, okay? Don't run away. Be careful. Do what Eliza tells you. I'll be back for you,"  
I said the last part more to myself than to her.  
After a tight hug, and another round of "thank you"s to Eliza, I left. Of course, I couldn't help but think that Milly might not be the only person I might not see again.  
You guessed it; Frankie.

* * *

I knew I couldn't hold it in anymore. Even if I destroyed the band doing this, it would be better than losing it all in a crazed man's murderous fantasies.  
Knocking on Frank's door, I felt more afraid than ever before. Than all the times Milly went missing, or when I saw Lyn about to have sex with another man...which is how I got here in the first place. But what was weird was, I'd done this so many times before, without feeling anything close to this. What made this time any different?  
"Yeah?" Frankie answered the door, looking surprised when he saw it was me. "Gee...You didn't just storm in ranting, something wrong?"  
"Frodo, I love you."  
"What?" he laughed, so very confused. He's so cute when he's confused...  
"Okay...Frankie-"  
"Gee, I'm killing penguins with the door open-"  
"Shut up, already!"  
"Then spit it out!"  
"You know the whole coming to you when Lyn-z was doing the cheating thing?"  
"Like, OMG, yeah!"  
"Fine, you know what, never mind," I said, letting my nerves get to me.  
"No!" he exclaimed, eager now. "I wanna know now that you used your valley girl voice!"  
Do I really have a valley girl voice?  
"Ok, well, I don't really know-"  
I walked in and sat down on the couch, continuing to babble, unsure of how I was going to do this. Which was also weird, because normally I would just _do it_. I didn't typically have to think.  
"I mean, I could've gone to Mikey, but you were the first person that came to mind, so I picked you and I didn't really want to think, because I was afraid I would trail off, _kinda_ like what I'm doing now, but I don't typically think out loud so this is really-"  
"Gerard!" Frankie snapped.  
And then I did it. And I didn't even really try, I just kissed him. It was sloppy and not completely on his lips, but it was there...on Frankie...and, God, it felt good. Compared to every time we'd been on stage, the crowds roaring, reminding us of the show we had to put on, and the fact that it was just a joke to ward off homophobes, and then here...feeling one hand placed on his shoulder, and the other placed uneasily on his cheek...his hand pressing slightly against my neck and the way his tongue...wait, what?  
And then we broke apart.  
He looked about as shocked as I felt, staring at the ground.  
_It might as well suck honestly_, Milly's words echoed in my mind over the sound of my racing heart.  
"So..." he paused, then laughed uncomfortably. "That's...what you're here to tell me?"  
I thought for a moment. "Kinda, yeah."  
"Wow,"  
"So...you agree?"  
"Umm...that was an awkward question,"  
"Well...I guess you...know what I mean...right?"  
"I...yeah...do,"  
He "yeah does". Interesting.  
"So..." I began, dying to hear what he was thinking.  
Then every daydream and dirty thought I'd had about my best friend came to life when he leaned back in and kissed me. Still as soft and riveting as before, but more eager and...intense. How could it be soft and intense at the same time? Either way...I didn't need Milly to give me advice for what happened next...

* * *

Going this far was a shock. Not that I hadn't thought about going that far with him before, but I never guessed I would actually _do it_.  
It didn't matter though...All I could think about was the present...laying there with Frankie, feeling the warmth of his bare skin, being close enough to hear his heart beat as fast as mine was, and knowing that, somehow, he felt the same.  
"Gee?" Frankie asked, brushing my hair away from my eyes.  
"Yeah?"  
"What made you come?"  
I laughed faintly. "You did."  
"No," he said, shifting upward to my level. "I mean...this could've hurt us...what made you risk that?"  
"I don't see how this was any different than all the other times I've-"  
"Not the sex itself, fool! You know what I mean!"  
"Well, technically we didn't have to have sex-"  
"Gee," Frankie groaned.  
"Why should I hide it?" I replied seriously.  
He smiled and looked at the hand he had on my chest, then whispered, "You shouldn't."  
I tilted his chin back upward and kissed him for the millionth time that evening.  
"Frankie?" I asked, choking back tears for some reason.  
"Yeah?"  
"I love you,"  
"I love you, too,"

* * *

**A/N: I dunno if Gee and Eliza actually were engaged, but I can't find a good source for any of the info I see, so I'm just gonna call her his ex-hairdresser, which everyone can seem to agree on. And to be on the safe side, I made them both nice and shit to each other.**

**And FINALLY THE SHIT GOES DOWN!  
XD  
I was excited about this chapter. Were you excited about this chapter? I was excited about this chapter. And as a special treat for the awesome reviews I got and the pure excitingness of this chapter, I made it extra long. Kinda like this author's note.**


	36. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

**Frank POV**  
_OhmyGodohmyGodohmyGodohmyGod!_ Did that really just happen? Did that really, really, _really _just happen? Well...it hurt too much to be a dream, so it had to have happened.  
_OhmyGodohmyGodohmyGod_!  
"Frankie," Gee murmured, kissing my cheek softly.  
"Yeah?"  
"I have to go...I have to meet with the police,"  
"Okay," I groaned.  
"Be careful," he said, getting out of bed. "Keep a knife with you."  
"Love you, Gee,"  
"I love you, too, Frankie,"  
He threw his clothes on, kissed me again, and walked out the door. I felt my heart drop as I heard the front door close.  
Stupid David.

* * *

**Gee POV**  
About the last thing I wanted to do at that point was leave. But I had to.  
I told the police about Milly's location, and they agreed that that was the best solution. The police also offered protective security units, consisting of one man each, to live with Frankie and me until danger passed. The rest of the guys seemed out of danger. _Seemed_.  
The guy's name who followed me home was John, the guy who went to Frankie's house was Will. I vaguely wondered if Frankie was still naked, even though I'd left over two hours ago. But this was Frankie I was thinking about. Sometimes I think he just goes around naked for the fun of it. I figured I'd better warn him.  
I called him, and tried not to gush any. I don't think I succeeded.  
Once I got home, I immediately went into my room. Unfortunately. I should have gone into the kitchen to get something to eat. Or maybe into the living room to watch a movie. I should have gone anywhere but my bedroom. Why?  
Because inside my bedroom, the first thing that caught my eye was the district attorney. A nail in each wrist and each ankle, and each nail hammered into my bedroom wall. I didn't have to come close to tell her heart wasn't beating. It couldn't, since it wasn't in her chest.  
Someone had murdered her.

* * *

John ran into the room as soon as he heard my yell. He shoved me against the wall and took out his gun, scanning the room as he did so.  
"Stay here, lock the door until I tell you it's safe,"  
I nodded, my eyes still on the heartless district attorney. It didn't take much brain power to figure out who had murdered her.  
My mind was racing so fast I even thought it was playing tricks on me. In my panic, I saw shadows everywhere, but nothing to cause them. The attorney's right hand seemed to twitch, yet upon closer look it was obviously still as stone. The left hand, though...had something in it.  
Did I dare touch it? Could it be a bomb? Or maybe if I took it out of her hand, it would set off a bomb in another location entirely...like Frankie's house.  
Then I heard a knock on the door, and John's voice telling me everything was okay. I opened the door and pointed.  
"What?" he asked.  
"There's...there's something in her left hand," I choked out. "I didn't touch it."  
"Good," he said, walking toward her.  
He examined her hand and pried it open carefully, making sure it didn't fall. It sounded like paper.  
"It says...'Liar liar pants on fire,'" he said.  
Liar liar...was that directed at me? Or...it was about something she said. She said...David was in jail- oh God.  
"Fuck," I whispered.  
"What,"  
"She said David's still locked up...do you think that's from him, saying she lied..."  
Maybe he held a gun to her head and told her to say that...maybe she was on his side after all, and then it backfired on her. I felt dizzy.  
But the rest of the house was safe. He wasn't here anymore. Where was he?  
God...Frankie. Please be safe.


	37. Chapter 36

**A/N: DAMN this is short. Like...half the length of my shortest chapter. Oh well...sorry.**

Chapter 36

**Milly POV**  
"So," Eliza said. "Do you wanna watch a movie?"  
I nodded, figuring that would be the least awkward thing to do with her.  
"Okay...how about...Batman?"  
_What is it with these people and Batman?_  
I tried to keep my breathing steady and my mind blank long enough to write something down with shaking hands.  
_Actually, I'm just gonna go to bed,_  
Even though it was only around seven.  
"Oh...okay,"  
I ran to my appointed room, still trying not to bawl my eyes out. Within seconds I had the window open, and my bag dangling outside.  
I didn't know what I was doing, but I wasn't staying there.

**Frank POV**  
I hung up the phone with Gerard, and waited. I glanced at the clock every five minutes or so, until I finally decided to stare at the clock nonstop. Seconds passed...then minutes...then a quarter of an hour...an hour...three hours.  
Will paced in boredom, while I sat biting my nails. We didn't really know what to do. I really just wanted to see Gerard again, if only to make sure he was okay. I had no idea what was going on with him any longer, and it killed me.  
Will finally sat down next to me. He still hadn't spoke except to say "Hi, I'm Will," and that kinda bugged me. But I wasn't exactly planning on making friends here...just surviving through the week.  
Then an earsplitting BANG accompanied the sound of glass shattering. I screamed and jumped up from the couch. My line of vision went crazy, until I finally focused on Will's body, flat on the floor. The back side of his head was blown clean off, and scattered all around him.  
Panic mode set in, and I looked around for our attacker. The front window was blown to pieces, but I didn't see any distinct figure from where I was standing. I did, however, see a shadow fly out of view.  
_Fuck,_


	38. Chapter 37

Chapter 37

I grabbed Will's gun, trying to avoid looking at his shattered head and breathing in its horrifying stench. I spun around in a pointless 360, trying to figure out where to go. My heart reacted quicker than my mind, beating ten times faster than I could even think. How did _Milly _deal with this guy?  
_Fuck, fuck, fuckity, FUCK!_  
I went around to the back window, remembering Milly stating that he attacked from the front, then came at them from the back.  
_Do I really want to use a gun? What if he overpowers me like Milly's dad? I can't let him have another gun. No- don't think. Stop thinking. Just do._  
My trembling hand parted the blinds, only to find a pair of eyes dart up to meet me. I cried out and fell back. The gun went off with a bang. Why had it already been cocked?  
I kept crawling backward just as the window shattered in front of me. Fear distracted me, disabling me from doing anything at least _relatively _logical. A knife swiped through the blinds, sending half of them to the ground. He climbed through the broken window, smirking at me as he did so.  
"Frankie," David said.  
Ignoring him, I reached over for the gun and snatched it before he could.  
"No, no, no," he chided, pulling a different, bigger gun in from outside. "Rock beats scissors."  
He pointed the barrel at me. "Get up."  
I did as he commanded.  
"Drop the gun,"  
It fell to floor, this time without going off. Well, I understand Fate obviously wanted me to die...but it didn't have to _mock _me.  
"Come here,"  
I drug myself up to him. And _dammit_, he was taller than me.  
He grabbed my arm and turned me around. I shuddered as he pressed his body against mine.  
"Walk," he commanded.  
I grabbed the knife hidden in my pocket, and whipped it around to drive it in his stomach. He growled in pain and cocked his gun. I heard a bang and cried out as a sharp pain coursed through my shoulder. I fell to the ground, holding my arm tightly against my torso.  
"Fucker!" he spat.  
I crawled away, disappointed as I saw I had hit his leg instead of his stomach. He cocked the gun again and pointed it at me.  
"Get up," he hissed.  
I got up, only barely conscious through the pain. He stormed up to me, the anger in his face alone heightening my terror to an indescribable level. He jerked me around, by my bad arm, mind you, and shoved me forward, demanding I walk.

* * *

He duck taped my mouth and blindfolded me the entire car ride, though I didn't know why. Because, when he finally dropped the blindfolds and started to bind me, I immediately knew where he took me. Gerard's back porch.  
How had he beaten Gerard's guard? And...God...Gerard? I assume he was the one with a bag over his head, bound tightly at least 20 feet away.  
"Don't worry," he whispered in my ear. "He's still alive. Right now. You know...his guard wasn't as easy as yours. He put up quite a fight. He was still weak, though."  
I felt a tear roll down my cheek at the slight of Gee, and the breathe of David in my ear. The blood loss started to take its toll, making me feel a little faint.  
"Now, Gerard," David started.  
I couldn't pay attention any longer. I was blacking out.


	39. Chapter 38

Chapter 38

**Gee POV**  
"Now, Gerard," I finally heard David.  
Where had he gone? I hadn't heard his voice in at least an hour.  
"Where's Milly?"  
"I don't. Know," I lied yet again.  
"Yes, you do," he cooed. "I know you do."  
Somehow, I felt more indignant than fearful.  
"You know how I know?"  
I ignored him. He couldn't take that, obviously, because he ripped the bag off my head and slapped me.  
"Do you?"  
"No," I hissed.  
He put the bag back over my head, and walked around a bit. I heard a loud thump and something that sounded like another bag ripping away from something. Footsteps told me he was coming closer to me again, just before he took the bag off my head again.  
I gasped in horror.  
A feminine body lay sprawled out in front of me, a long and deep gash running down her back. There was a bloody stump where her head should have been.  
David walked in front of me again, blocking my view. He held up the head in his right hand. The head of Eliza Cuts.  
She had a calm expression on her face, like she didn't know it was coming. Then when did the wound on her back happen?  
"That's how I know," David said. "I couldn't find Milly, though. Little escape artist, isn't she? Except this time, I think _you _helped her."  
I tried to ignore the fact that Eliza said that.  
"Oh, you're wondering how I knew," he smirked. "Well...I followed you. Simple as that. See, it's not that hard to outwit a musician...it's even easier to outwit a musician who's _also an artist_...and you must have only checked the car behind you or something. I was a few cars back. Very simple if you have _any _logic."  
His insults didn't exactly strike fear into my heart, but I had no idea what he would do next.  
He dangled the decapitated head in front of me again, smirking even wider. He brought it closer to his face...and sucked on the edge of her neck. His tongue poked out and started licking at the blood that continued to drip. Suddenly the head was coming closer to me.  
"Have a bite," he whispered, shoving the stump against my cheek.  
My heart went into overdrive, and my breathing came out in trembling gusts.  
"Go on," he laughed. "You always wanted to be a _monster_."  
"Not like you," I growled.  
He giggled maniacally. "_'Not like me?'_ I'm not a good enough monster for you?"  
"You're a murderer," I hissed. "That's worse than a monster."  
"Oh, you're not still upset about the _attorney_, are you? Come on, no one likes those, anyway,"  
I glared.  
"You probably figured it out by now...she lied," he said. "Because here I am. But don't worry...she didn't want to. I made her."  
I wondered about how he got our addresses, but I knew it would only make him happy if I asked. He seemed to figure it out, anyway.  
"She gave me your address, too," he smirked. "Indirectly, of course. I had to hold a gun to her head while I went through her files. And _you_, of course, indirectly gave me _his_. I had to follow you."  
He jerked his head, indicating whom he meant.  
I strained my head to see who that was.  
_Fuck...Frankie,_  
How had I not seen him before? I must have been too preoccupied with Eliza.  
Frankie was passed out, and obviously covered in blood. The sight of his blood made my heart freeze in terror, and bile rise in my throat. Who could do that to someone so beautiful?  
"Yeah...that's partially your fault," David said. "You adopted Milly, _knowing _she was connected to a murder. You kept seeing Frankie, even though you should have known that would put him in danger. It's your fault he's passed out, it's your fault...he's gonna _die_."  
"_Don't touch him!_" I roared, seeing red.  
"Why not?"  
"Don't touch him," I repeated.  
"Tell me where Milly is," he demanded.  
"I don't know," I said, finally telling the truth.  
"Yes, you do,"  
"No, I fucking don't!"  
He took out his knife and went over to Frankie.  
"Stop!"  
_He listened...but only to do the opposite,_ Milly had said.  
Don't encourage him.  
He pressed the knife against Frankie's cheek, then looked at me expectantly.  
"You're pathetic," I spat.  
"Excuse me?" he asked, smirking.  
"You're pathetic," I repeated. "You'll never do anything...so you do this."  
"I don't think you comprehend the position you've put your boyfriend in," he said, finally taking the knife away. "Where's Milly?"  
_What do I do?_  
"Frankie," David sung, patting my Frankie's cheek. "Wake up. Your _tough _boyfriend deserves to enjoy this. He deserves the _fear _in your eyes."


	40. Chapter 39

**A/N: Maybe it'll be a _little _longer than I said before. By a few chapters at most.**

Chapter 39

**Milly POV**  
I had no idea where I was, or what time it was. All I knew was that it was raining, and I was stuck under a tiny rock shelter, almost like a tiny, tiny, _tiny _cave. My house could be north, west, _anywhere _and I wouldn't know the difference. _Gerard _could be anywhere and I wouldn't know the difference. I shouldn't have run away. Would Eliza even come look for me? Would _anyone _come look for me?  
I really shouldn't have run away.  
Animals have instincts to get them home. Why couldn't _I_ have any instinct like that? Surely I couldn't be _that _clueless. I had to have paid attention some when Gerard drove me to Eliza's. I had to have paid attention when I ran from Eliza's.  
But I didn't.  
I had no idea where I was, and I was cold, hungry, scared, depressed, and any other negative adjective you can think of.

* * *

**Frankie POV**  
My eyes snapped open and the world came into view again. David walked back over to Gerard, picking up something that looked like a mallet on his way. Panic rose in me and I shifted position, only to wince in pain.  
_God...please don't hurt him...not him...not my love,_  
Of course my thoughts didn't matter. David had a will different than any humane man, and he wouldn't stop until the deed was done. Not on his own, anyway. But who here could stop him?  
Then he swung. The mallet hit Gerard's upper right leg, sending out a sharp crack, followed by Gerard's screams. David hit again, breaking Gerard's lower leg. I held back vomit as I saw the bone begin to poke out of his flesh, and blood drip down to the grass.  
"Bastard!" I cried.  
David ignored me and swung again, breaking the upper leg a second time. Gerard cried out in agony, and David finally dropped the weapon. He knelt next to Gerard and smiled. _How could he smile after that?_  
"Where is she?"  
"My house!" I cried, determined to at least pause the torture he planned to inflict on Gerard. "She's at my house."  
"I think you're lying," David said. "You know liars pay a heavy price in hell. Even heavier on earth."  
He turned back to Gerard. "Your lover's made it awfully hard for me to choose between you two now."  
"Don't touch him," I heard Gerard hiss.  
"You didn't even look!" I said.  
"I didn't have to," David growled at me.  
I had to think of something to get him away from Gee. My gunshot wound seemed to have finally stopped bleeding so much, though it still hurt like a bitch. I could take a little more torment; right now, Gerard couldn't.  
"How are you so sure?" I asked.  
"That little bitch would've squealed," he sneered.  
The courtroom..._damn _he was right. And he knew he was right. Now _that _pissed me off.  
"Now," David said to Gerard, standing up. "Where is she?"  
"She ran away," Gerard responded weakly.  
"Ran away where?"  
"I dunno...I swear, I don't,"  
David walked back over to me and knelt down.  
_Fuck,_  
He started pulled at the ropes that bound me, revealing my wounded shoulder. The knife appeared again, as I should have predicted. It sliced through my shirt, exposing my nearly shredded flesh.  
"Why are you causing so much trouble over _one little bitch_?"  
"No...David..." Gerard pleaded.  
Just then I felt a thumb cover my wound.  
"I swear!" Gerard sobbed. "Maybe Eliza said something and she ran, maybe she's trying to come back to me, I _don't know!_"  
"Aww, like a loyal, lost puppy dog," David mocked.  
A sharp, unbearable pain shot through my shoulder again, and I screamed in torture as his thumb pressed the bullet in farther. He twisted his thumb, widening the hole as well as deepening it. My screams eventually choked me once sobs fought with them for expulsion. I knew something was making noise, but the pain was too much for me to hear anything clearly.  
I faded out again.


	41. Chapter 40

Chapter 40

**Gee POV**  
How could he do something like that? How could one man be so horrible? And how could he just walk away and leave us there?  
My leg was in excruciating pain, Frankie was still passed out, and it had been hours since I had seen David last. He'd disappeared without saying a word, without giving us, or me rather, any idea what he would do...or whom he would do it to.  
Darkness fell and it started to drizzle. The rain bit at my leg, and I whimpered in response. I couldn't look at my leg without wanting to retch, or without wondering if I would get to the hospital in time for it to heal right...if I got to the hospital. But surely people were looking for us. Mikey had to have called me and eventually started to worry. Or maybe someone called one of the guards and became suspicious when they didn't answer.  
Frankie never moved, and I started to worry about him even more than my leg. How badly was he hurt, exactly? If he was shot in the shoulder, wouldn't he have bled to death? Unless David wanted him alive, and stopped the bleeding somehow. Why? So he could make me watch him torture Frankie?  
And what about Milly? For once, I felt relieved that she'd run away. But where was she? _How _was she? Why did she run away? She didn't see David, did she? Maybe she had seen him and had only run away far enough and long enough to avoid him, and she was back at Eliza's. I doubted that, though. She probably wouldn't go back to Eliza's if she had a reason for running away.  
I couldn't sleep. I _wouldn't _sleep. Not just because of the pain and terror, but because of anticipation. Anticipation for when and if someone would find us, and anticipation for what David would do in the mean time.  
Hour passed by painfully, quite literally. The sunlight brought no comfort, only fear, as that only meant we were that much closer to another round of torture. And sure enough, David came out of no where just as the sunlight climbed over the trees and invaded my eyes.  
I was going to die. I knew it. That day I was going to die, and I'd never see my little brother again. I'd never finish the album. Milly would find out and fall deeper into fear, knowing that David was on the loose. And Frankie...that one time wasn't enough. I needed to hold him again. I needed _him _to hold _me_. I had to be with him.  
I'd deluded myself this entire time that someone would find us, and that everything would be okay because David would be caught. No one knew we were in danger. No one knew we were tied up, at the mercy of a psychotic bastard. I. Was going. To die.  
David knelt down by my side again. "Morning!"  
I spat, aiming for his eye. Unfortunately it only reached his cheek.  
"Well, that's not polite," he said, wiping the spit away.  
I only glared.  
"Frankie seems to be a late sleeper," he said. "Let's wake him up."  
_Only to do the opposite,_  
"Fuck you," I said. "Go ahead. Try him. _Try _and break him. You'll get no where."  
"Well, sounds like you want me to try you, instead,"  
_Yes_, I thought. _I do_.  
"Face it, I don't know where she is,"  
"Maybe your brother knows," he said.  
_God fucking dammit!_  
"My brother?" I gasped. "You have my baby brother?"  
"I said maybe he knows...but if you're offering him-"  
"No!" I growled.  
"That sounds like a good idea,"  
"Fucking psycho," I hissed.  
"Glad you caught on," he smirked. "You know what they told me? You wouldn't believe it."  
"Who, the voices?"  
"No, the people my sister took me to see,"  
He waited, then slapped me. "_Do you_?"  
"No," I muttered.  
"They said I have schizo-affective disorder,"  
"Then you're wrong...I can believe that,"  
He slapped me again.  
"No, _they're_ wrong...you see, the shrink...he was _blind_...he was literally fucking _blind_. How could he tell if I knew what was there? But that's it...once they make a diagnosis, nothing you say matters, 'cause that's just part of the disease. Denial's expected, acceptance is a miracle. But I'm not in denial or a fucking miracle. I'm _right_. And _you_...you're just a little _sensitive_. You're too attached to this girl. I mean, she means nothing to you. You've only known her a few months, and you only have her because of _me_. But you're still spitting on me and calling me names, I just don't _get _you. What, is she like _your _child now? Does she finally call you _Daddy_? Does she?"  
"No," I said flatly. "She doesn't."  
"And _him_?" he pointed at Frankie. "What's he to you? Right now he's not your friend, he's just another person to be slaughtered, possibly giving you enough time to be saved. You should _want _him to die. Aww, am I making you cry? Why, do you love him?"  
"Yes," I squeaked. "I do."  
He cackled and shot up from the ground, then walked over to Frankie. "Do you?"  
Then I saw a gun in his hand.  
"Do you really?" he pressed the barrel to Frankie's temple.  
"Don't!" I cried, struggling against my ropes.  
"Think of it this way...it's him or you,"  
"Me," I blurted out.  
"What?" he asked skeptically.  
"Kill _me_!"  
"But Frankie's already halfway there," he argued.  
"No, please," I begged.  
"But I want to _so badly_," he pouted.  
"Stop! _Stay the fuck away from him, you bastard!_" I twisted wildly in an attempt to maim him.  
"No one's stopping me,"  
"_You motherfucker, I'll kill you!_"  
"So do it!" he cackled. "I dare you! I dare you to kill me! I dare you to try!"  
Suddenly we heard what sounded like cymbals crashing.  
"Hey, shit fucker!" a familiar voice yelled.  
Bob?  
David and I both turned to the noise, just as an earsplitting bang sounded. David fell to the ground, clutching his now bloody chest in pain.  
I strained around to see Bob jump over the fence and run toward me. He crouched down to untie my ropes.  
"God, Gerard, what the fuck did he do to your leg?"  
"Mallet, or something- where are Mikey and Ray?"  
"With police," he said, slipping the ropes over my head. "I called 'em when I found your guard. I...took his gun."  
"How'd you know to come?" I asked, scooting over to Frankie.  
"You wouldn't answer the phone,"  
Bob took the knife by Frankie's side and sliced through the ropes.  
"Milly's missing...Eliza's dead...and Frankie has a bullet wound in his shoulder," I said, more to straighten things out for myself than to update Bob.  
I gently patted Frankie's cheek, trying to wake him up. I checked his vital signs to calm my own.  
"Frankie...Frankie, please? Wake up. Come on, I know you're still here, wake up,"  
He wouldn't budge.  
"Frankie! Please!"  
His eyelids twitched, and finally parted. I let out a shuddered sigh of relief.  
"Where's he?" Frankie murmured.  
"I'm here," a raspy voice came.  
_Fuck,_  
Bob jerked around and pulled the trigger, but it missed.  
"Asshole," David spat at Bob.  
Frankie jerked the gun out of Bob's hands, aimed, and shot. The bullet hit David straight in the head, and he fell to the ground. Finally...dead.  
"Just returning the fucking favor," Frankie sneered.

* * *

**A/N: I dedicate this chapter to Bob. XD I wish him happiness and success in whatever it is he set out to do. BOB FTW! And DAMN YOU, TiLyLoVeSMcR for guessing this would happen! jk**


	42. Chapter 41

Chapter 41

**Frankie POV**  
"Just returning the fucking favor," I spat.  
Then I got a lovely surprise. Gee turned my face toward his and pressed our lips together, despite Bob's presence. Of course that gave me another lovely surprise when Gerard parted from me; Bob's reaction. He froze, cocked one eyebrow, looked to the side, and then back at us. His eyes narrowed, and then he cocked an eyebrow again.  
"Uhhhh..." Bob said.  
"Sorry we didn't tell you," I giggled.  
"Uhhhh..." he repeated.  
"Hospital," Gee reminded him.  
"Uhhhh..."  
"Gerard!" I suddenly heard Mikey.  
I looked toward the fence and watched as Mikey crawled clumsily over it. Once he finally reached our side, he ran over to meet us.  
"God, Gerard, you're my fucking brother, you're supposed to tell me when these things are about to- _Holy fuck!_" he finally caught sight of Gee's leg. "Okay, hospital. Frankie- oh, wow. Can you walk?"  
I nodded.  
"Bob, get Gerard's right side,"  
"Whoa, do what?" Bob asked, snapping out of his confused little world.  
"You are _completely _useless!" Mikey exclaimed in annoyance.  
"Sorry!" Bob squeaked, helping me up.  
After he was sure I could stand, he turned to Mikey and helped him haul Gee off the ground.

~~~~~~~~~~

Gerard's leg was broken in five different places, according to his doctor. Two fractures of the femur, one fracture of the tibia, and two fractures of the fibula. The doctor gave us more details, but I couldn't understand them very well.  
They stitched me up and gave me a prescription for pain medication, and then told me what to do to help my shoulder heal for the next few weeks. They told me smoking would slow the healing, which pissed me off. Bob stayed with me, while Mikey stayed with Gerard, and Ray called our parents to let them know what happened.  
"Uhhh...so..."  
I burst out laughing, but stopped as a sharp pain invaded my shoulder.  
"Bob..._chillax_, dude,"  
"How long have you and Gee been...um...whatever you've been?"  
"A day or two," I said.  
"_Dude_..."  
"Frankie," I heard Ray's voice. "Your mom's freaking out, she wants to talk to you."  
"Weird lady," I muttered, reaching my good hand out for the phone.

~~~~~~~~~~

**Gee POV**  
I finally got morphine and a cast on my leg, but I wouldn't feel fully comfortable until I knew where to find Milly. When the police saw me, I told them about her, and they said they'd send out a search team, but I wanted to help.  
Plus, I couldn't help but feel like a search team would make her worse. She didn't like big crowds of people, and a big crowd of people who carry weapons and lights would probably terrify her even more.  
Frankie finally walked through my door.  
"Hey," he said softly.  
"Hey, you," I replied giddily.  
He came over and sat down on the bed next to me, minding my leg and his arm.  
"Something you wanna ask me?" he smirked, resting his chin on my shoulder.  
I chuckled, and kissed his forehead. "You wanna go see a movie sometime?"  
"Not that we don't already do that, but yes, I'd love to,"  
"I would slap you, but your midget body probably can't take much more pain,"  
"Oh _no _you di-in't!"  
I giggled.  
"So what are we gonna tell Milly? I fell on a spike and you tripped trying to save me?"  
"HA! No, I was thinking more along the lines of falling from a tree, and a cooking accident," I suggested.  
"Ah...wait..._you _fell from a tree?"  
I nodded.  
"So my shoulder was injured in a _cooking accident_?"  
"Don't mock, she's eleven and gullible,"  
"Not _that _gullible, Gee," he said. "Falling from a tree, maybe, but unless bacon grease hit me at 800 miles per hour, which wouldn't happen anyway since I don't _eat _bacon, I don't think-"  
"Okay, okay, okay," I said. "What do you have in mind?"  
"Well, she doesn't have to _see _the wound,"  
"Ohhhh, that's true,"  
"She doesn't have to know I'm hurt,"  
"True,"  
I loved that Frankie seemed to want to protect Milly as much as I did.  
"Now we just need to find her," I whimpered.  
"We will," he assured me. "Don't worry."  
"But I am worried," I said.  
"You know what? I am, too,"

~~~~~~~~~~

The instant the discharge papers were filled out and signed, I insisted to Frankie that I go find her. He refused to let me drive anywhere, though, and told me I wasn't in any shape to go out looking for her.  
But I _had _to. Eventually we agreed to let Ray drive me around Eliza's house for a little bit, while Mikey and Bob took Frankie home.


	43. Chapter 42

Chapter 42

"Milly!"  
After three hours of searching, and thirty minutes of Ray telling me I needed to take a break and go home, which I really translated into Ray saying "I'm tired, let the search party find her," we still hadn't found Milly. I was scared, to put it lightly. I'd tried to think "Where would an eleven-year-old Milly hide?" but she couldn't necessarily pick where to go in this instance. That's what the whole "lost" concept's all about.  
"Milly!"  
But maybe she stayed somewhere she knew she could blend in. Where could that be?  
With my good leg, I kicked the dashboard of my car in frustration, then sat back and folded my arms.  
"Really, Gerard, you should go home and sleep...you've been up almost 35 hours straight," Ray told me.  
But I wouldn't be able to sleep. I was wired up on anxiety.  
"Do we have her pad? I want to give her a chance to explain before I ground her and take away all of her Dixie Chicks privileges," I pouted.  
"We have _a_ pad...but you should really-"  
"No!" I groaned. "I have to find her, you don't _get it_."  
"No, Gee, I _do _get it," Ray told me. "You love her; we all do. Especially you. She's like the little girl you could never have, and now she's gone missing. I _know _this is painful for you."  
"Mm-hmm," I nodded, poking my lip out.  
Ray laughed. "Okay, okay. We'll go for another hour."  
"Thank you Torosaurus," I smiled.  
"You're welcome, Gee-tard,"  
"But...can you take me to Frankie's? I don't like my place that much right now...and Frankie probably needs someone to keep him from bouncing around and ripping his stitches anyway,"  
"Sure,"  
We looked ten miles in every possible direction of Eliza's house, but we couldn't find her. I finally formed a sickening gut feeling that she didn't just get lost...but taken. The hour passed too soon, and Ray dragged me to Frankie's.

* * *

**Lyn-z POV**  
I obviously couldn't help but fight with people. Even with Jen, I couldn't help but open my big mouth and blurt the stupidest shit out. She'd barely managed to keep herself from bitch slapping me, which she probably should have, and simply told me to get out, ignoring my several immediate attempts at apologizing.  
So I drove, not really in the mood to go anywhere in particular. I just wanted to drive. Then, right when I decided I'd had enough and started to go home, a blue smudge appeared in the corner of my eye. I did a double take, since trees didn't typically have blue shit in them, and the smudge turned into a more distinguishable figure. A distinguishable figure I recognized.  
I pulled over and got out of the car.  
"Hey, you!" I called.  
A familiar blonde girl turned to look at me, then smiled weakly. For some reason it made me a little happy to see her...but also a little confused to see her _there_.  
"Milly...what are you doing up there?"  
She looked around.  
_Damn, Lyn, she can't speak,_  
"You need help down?"  
She shook her head, and started crawling down.  
"Hang on, I'll find you something to write with,"  
I opened the car door and leaned in to look around in the glove compartment. An envelop finally appeared, along with a mechanical pencil.  
"Now...what are you doing out here?" I asked, handing her the paper and pencil.  
She scribbled something down.  
_Gerard needed me to stay with Eliza...I kinda overreacted about something and ran away,_  
"They're probably worried to death about you," I said. "Come on...get in and I'll take you to Gerard's. He, at least, knows how to take care of you."  
Why would he have sent her to Eliza's in the first place? There are so many people I would have expected him to ask other than her.  
Surprisingly, she nodded and got in the car. After the last contact I'd had with her, I wouldn't expect her to ever want to deal with me again. I felt guilty for that, actually. She probably felt scared right now just to be around me.  
"Um...Milly," I started. "I know you probably either don't want to hear it, or don't care, but...you know, I'm sorry. For being so...brutal, I guess is the word...toward you because of Jimmy. I mean...one of the first things I told Gerard was that he had no idea what you were going through...and I guess I was being a hypocrite. And I'm sorry for that."  
I heard scribbling, and glanced over to read quickly.  
_It's okay...I shouldn't have been so violent._  
"How's Gerard?" I asked tentatively.  
_Good. Now, at least._  
"Good,"  
I tried to think of something else to say, even though silence was obviously perfectly acceptable with this girl.  
"You really shouldn't run away," I said, coming to a halt at a stop sign. "Gerard's a very fragile person. He can't take that much stress. And I think you running away probably stresses him out more than anything right now."  
She nodded, and started scribbling. I waited for her to finish before I moved the car again.  
_I know it stresses him out. But that's just because it's his job, right?_  
"No, it's because he cares about you," I said, wondering where this sudden drop in self-esteem had come from. "Everyone does, really. Him, Mikey, Frankie...even Jimmy's said he might find you amusing if you hadn't thrown so many things at him."  
She made a face that said she didn't believe me.  
"It's the truth. Believe it or not, you're part of the Black Parade now, girly," I smiled at the thought of it. "And the Black Parade marches together or not at all."  
She ducked her head down, but I saw a smile appear on her face. She liked that idea, too.


	44. Chapter 43

**A/N: Before I totally kill this off, which it will feel like to me since this story's kinda my baby, I just want to thank all of my readers who stuck with this story from the moment they read the Preface up until now. Your comments and support mean so much.**

**I have some ideas for a sequel, but that feels like overkill. Comment your thoughts about that, please?**

**I'll have the epilogue in a day or so. *tears up***

Chapter 43

**Gee POV**  
"But what if she was taken by granny rapers who're raping her by making her rape grannies?" I asked Frankie.  
He raised an eyebrow. "Gerard?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Ger-a-tard,"  
"Shut up," I said.  
"Babe, she's fine," he assured me. "She always is."  
"But there's a first for everything,"  
"Why are you being so pessimistic?"  
"Because I don't want to get my hopes up,"  
"Sweetie, she's fine,"  
"I love how you can call me sweetie now," I gushed.  
"I love how you can love me now," Frankie said.  
"Awww, you're being disgusting just _for me_? I feel so special now,"  
"You should. I think I was gonna vomit saying that,"  
I pecked him on the lips, then decided that wasn't enough and kissed him deeply. He kissed back, and smiled into the kiss. Then the doorbell rang.  
I snatched up my crutches and went to the door as quickly as I could. I flung the door open in hopes of seeing an officer of some sort, only to mentally slap myself at the sight of Lyn-z.  
"Oh...hi," I murmured nervously.  
"I tried your house...you weren't there," she said. "I figured this was the second best guess. I think you're probably missing this."  
She stepped aside, revealing a slightly wet, filthy looking Milly.  
"Milly!" I gasped.  
I grabbed her and wrapped her in a tight hug, until I could tell she couldn't breathe.  
"Why did you _do _that? We sent a search team out for you! Wait...let me guess...Batman?"  
She nodded.  
"I found her in a tree," Lyn said.  
"Thank you," I told her, wrapping her in a hug as well.  
"So she touches people now?"  
"Yeah...she does,"  
"In that case, can I have a hug, Milly?"  
Milly smiled and hugged her. Then the inevitable question came.  
"What happened to your leg?"  
"Ah...fell out of a tree,"  
Lyn looked back and forth between Milly and me.  
"You two are scary alike,"  
"I'm not _that _strange," I said.  
I looked down at Milly, smirking at her. She glared at me, then went inside.  
"Milly!" I heard Frankie exclaim.  
"Um...I didn't want to tell Milly...I didn't get the broken leg from falling out of a tree," I whispered to Lyn.  
"Oh?"  
"Um...you know...if you meet me at Starbucks tomorrow I can tell you about it,"  
She smiled. "So...we're still friends?"  
I nodded.  
"I'll see you tomorrow, then," she said, backing toward her car.  
"Thank you," I said again.  
"My pleasure,"  
She got in her car and I shut the door, just in time to hear Frankie.  
"Guess what, Mill?"  
She cocked her head to one side.  
"I got lucky!"  
"Hey, now, is that any way to talk to-"  
"Oh, come on, Gee...she's been through fifth grade,"  
"How about Milly takes a warm shower and then we tell her in a _clean _manner?"  
Milly crossed her arms and shook her head.  
"Something tells me you're not in a position to argue," I said.  
She sighed and grudgingly followed orders.

~~~~~~~~~~

Milly sat in front of her pad and pen at the kitchen table, wearing fresh clothes I'd managed to get from our house while she was in the shower. While I'd been worried when she was missing, all in all I felt relieved that she had run away. Otherwise we couldn't keep this huge event a secret from her.  
She waited for me to figure out how to tell her this second, not so huge in comparison event. Frankie's stare didn't help.  
"You know what you told me...about life sucking no matter what, and it might as well suck honestly?"  
I waited for her to respond.  
_That's not EXACTLY what I said, but yeah,_  
"Yeah...it sucks honestly now,"  
A smile immediately spread on her face and she looked back and forth between me and Frankie.  
_YAY! _she wrote.  
"I know, right!"  
_So you ARE bi?_  
I laughed. "Yes, I'm bi."  
_I TOLD YOU!_  
"You did not!"  
_Whatever...I'm hungry,_  
"I'll make her something," Frankie said as I started to get up. "Sit."  
"I love you," I grinned.  
Milly might have been happy for us, but she was still in the "eeeww gewy" stage. At the sound of "gewy" affection, she scrunched up her face and slapped her forehead with her pad.  
"Okay, Mill, but don't expect me to act mature when _you _find a guy,"  
She stuck out her tongue at me. A true sign everything was returning to normal.


	45. Epilogue

Epilogue

**Frank POV**  
Though we'd been dating for a while, and before that there had been that whole Ferard crap, I wasn't quite used to waking up to Gee's arm around me.  
Turning just enough to look at him, I saw Gee's brown eyes already open and a smile on his lips. I shifted to face him and cuddled closer until my head was buried in his bare chest.  
"Morning," I said.  
He kissed my forehead, and I wondered if he felt my heart go into overdrive. "Happy Birthday."  
I lifted my head up and pressed my lips against his, forcing my heart to pound faster. I felt his lips curls upwards into a smile as he kissed back, cupping my chin gently.  
Our moment of bliss was interrupted by the annoying ring of a phone. Knowing Milly couldn't get it, Gee got up to answer it.  
After getting dressed, I went into the living room to see if Milly was even awake, as she normally is before I wake up.  
She waved timidly from her seat at the computer, but still didn't speak. It'd been about six months since she'd spoken last, according to Gerard, who's always nervous about when she'll speak again.  
Somehow we'd managed to keep our encounter with David a secret from her. We told her the guards found him dead in his cell from a heart attack. I think _that_, more than anything, is what's helping her sleep at night. Which she actually started doing more often. After we told her that, about 50% of nights she slept through without any form of nightmare.  
I poured water into the coffee maker, and waited as it dripped painfully slow into the pot. Then a pair of arms wrapped around me and held me tight. I turned around and wrapped my arms around Gee's neck.  
"Hello, love," I said.  
"Hello, beautiful," he said.  
The rest of the guys knew about us, and they supported it...but I couldn't help but notice how awkward they felt hugging us anymore. Whatever. Their deal.  
"What do you want to do today?" Gee asked.  
"I want to make never-ending love to you,"  
"Sounds good to me," Gee smiled.  
He pressed our lips together, pushing me against the wall. His hands made their way to my neck, trapping me in the kiss. As if I'd ever want out. And then we heard a loud thud and someone clearing their throat.  
We broke apart and turned to Milly, who gave us a "don't _even_" look. She made her way over to us and pointed at the coffee pot.  
"That's coffee," Gerard said, as if she didn't figure that out on her own.  
She nodded and pointed at herself.  
"You're asking if you can have some?"  
She nodded.  
"Nuh-_uh_, girly," he said. "Maybe in a few years."  
She pouted and went back to the computer.  
"Sensitive even over coffee," I murmured, tucking a stray wisp of hair behind his ears.  
"Yeah," he said. "I guess."  
"She's your little girl," I whispered.  
"No...she's more than that,"  
"Really?"  
"She's my little girl, she's my muse, she's my guide, she's my savior in some ways, and most of all, she's my wise little friend,"  
"Wise beyond her years," I agreed.  
"Mmm-hmm...coffee time,"  
"And after that we make love,"  
Gee laughed. "Yes...after that we'll make love."

**THE END**

* * *

**A/N: And it's over! I'm so sad! But also thrilled at the same time, because I've never finished a story before! Thanks for all the comments, guys. I didn't think I would make a sequel, but now that I've got so many ideas, I'm actually considering it. I mean, I'm not sure I can get used to getting on my computer and NOT writing about Milly. I'm even hesitant to press the "submit" button.**

Anyway...so long and goodnight (for now).


End file.
